It's Not Easy Being Green
by transmutejun
Summary: What is life really like for a Galactor goon? Is it possible to build a mecha that the Science Ninja Team won't destroy?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A bead of sweat rolled down Kito's forehead and dripped onto his nose. He barely noticed, as he absentmindedly swiped at it with his greasy sleeve.

There it was: the loose wire that had been causing all of his problems! Kito grabbed a metal clip to secure it, and reached for his caulking gun.

"Keep working!" screamed Sergeant Kyle, delivering hard kicks to his men, as he walked by. The Sergeant's boot connected with Kito's hand, nearly breaking the bone.

Kito winced in pain, as the metal clip went skittering across the floor. Ignoring his injury, Kito scrambled to pick it up. He didn't want Kyle to single him out for 'special treatment'. The last soldier who received such treatment spent three days in the Sanitorium. Kito had heard rumors that the man had nearly been executed, as the cost of returning him to full health had been prohibitive. Galactor liked to get its full value out of a man, and that _didn't_ include footing expensive hospital bills.

Rank and file soldiers were expendable. Everyone knew that. A man's only hope of survival was to do his job, and blend in with the crowd.

The latter part, at least, wasn't too difficult. The regulation uniform and haircut made everyone look alike. You had to be very familiar with a person to recognize them without intense scrutiny.

Kito continued working, using his silicone caulk on the wire to prevent its coming loose again. Do your job; don't make a fuss. It had become his motto.

How had he gotten to this point? Did he deserve this miserable, unappreciated excuse for a life? Once, he had been happy: even, carefree. Once, he had been a boy: a boy who liked to play in the dirt, and build model engines… It couldn't have been _that_ long ago, could it? A little more than a decade. But it seemed like a lifetime ago.

He could still remember that day, eleven years ago…

88888

He was just putting the finishing touches on his motorcycle model. He was so proud of this one: it was his best work yet. The kit was meant for much older kids, and yet, he had been able to complete it with seven days of solid work.

When Kito grew up, he wanted a real motorcycle. He would get on it and drive far away from this orphanage, to wherever his fancy took him. The thought made him smile.

He was just about to pick up the model and secure it in his storage locker, when a small toddler ran by, careening into the worktable as he went. The model shook, then fell to the floor, breaking into dozens of pieces.

Kito was crestfallen. He had spent so many hours on this kit, and now, it was broken. He didn't even know if he could fix it. It wasn't really the boy's fault: he looked as if he weren't even two yet, but still…

Mournfully, Kito began picking up the pieces. As he did so, a young girl with long, dark hair came running up. She looked to be about Kito's age.

"Jinpei!" she cried, in a lecturing tone, "You have to watch where you are going!"

The girl knelt down in front of the boy, placing her slim hands on his chubby cheeks, encouraging him to look at her.

"Do not hit the table, Jinpei." she said firmly, and the boy nodded.

"No hit table!" he cried, grinning.

"That's right, Jinpei. No hitting the table." the girl repeated, and then she removed her hands from the boy's face. The toddler ran off, happily squealing at his freedom.

"I apologize." she said, turning to Kito. "He's just excited. He's not two yet, and doesn't really understand. I'm sorry about your model. It looked beautiful." She bent down, to help him pick up the pieces.

"That's… that's okay." Kito was stunned. In the few weeks he had been at the orphanage, no one had offered any kind of friendly gesture. Even while he had lived with his uncle, he had been a loner, not making friends easily. The reaction of the kids here, to his presence, only caused him to fall back on his old habit, of sticking to himself.

Kito looked at the girl. She had a pretty enough face, he supposed, but her body was skinny and gangly. She wore patched blue jeans, indicating that she wasn't part of the 'girly-girl' set he had seen around the playground.

But what struck him most, were her eyes. They were a deep, clear green color, and he felt like they could see right inside of him.

"No, it's not okay." she insisted, shaking her head. "It's broken, and it will take a lot of work to repair. I…"

"You… what?" Kito asked, curious, despite himself.

"I could help you." she offered. "If you want."

"Help me?" he said, surprised. "Do _you_ know anything about motorcycles?"

"Yes." she smiled, and her whole face lit up. "I want to get one, as soon as I'm old enough to drive."

"Me too!" Kito grinned. "They're so much more exciting than cars… so…" he searched for words.

"So open!" she finished for him, making Kito grin wider. "You're not enclosed. You're _out there_, with the road."

Kito was thrilled that she knew _exactly_ why he loved motorcycles. He had never met anyone else who did, before.

"I'm Kito." he said, introducing himself.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" the girl said, offering her hand. "I'm Jun. It's nice to meet you, Kito."

"And this," she continued, as the toddler came back to her and crawled into her lap with a contented sigh, "is Jinpei."

"Is he your brother?" Kito asked curiously.

"Not really." Jun replied, "But it kind of feels like he is. I found him wandering at the edge of Mt. Jupiter about six months ago, and I've kind of felt responsible for him ever since. He's really a cute kid."

Jinpei looked up at Kito, giving him a wide, drooling grin. It was already obvious that he was going to be bucktoothed.

Still, Kito appreciated the warm welcome.

"Nice to meet you, Jinpei." he smiled, ruffling the little boy's hair. For his age, he had an awful lot of it. Jinpei laughed and clapped in response.

Jun and Kito became fast friends, and took turns looking out for the adventurous Jinpei. Jun helped Kito put his motorcycle back together in record time, and then they began to work on newer, more difficult model kits. She even helped him build a working engine.

They were the happiest days of Kito's life: the first time he had ever had a real friend.

And then, one day, that was all taken away from him.

Kito and Jun were out on the playground, drawing out plans for their new project: a model Harley, big enough for them to actually sit on. Jinpei ran off, and Kito had offered to go after him.

"I'll be right back!" he promised.

It was the last time he ever saw Jun.

He came back with Jinpei, a few moments later, but Jun had disappeared. Their Harley plans had fallen into the dirt, and there were footprints all over them. Kito picked them up, concerned.

"Have you seen Jun?" he asked, frantically searching the playground for her.

But all the other kids shook their heads, or turned away without answering.

Kito was scared, but he didn't know what to do. He held Jinpei, clutching him tightly. The toddler had already realized that Jun wasn't around, and began to cry loudly.

"Shhhhh…. Jinpei…" Kito said, trying desperately to soothe the boy, "It will be all right…"

The problem was, Kito wasn't sure of that, himself.

Jun didn't return all afternoon. Then, that night, at dinner, he heard a rumor that she was in the hospital. But no one knew why.

The uncertainty lasted for days. Kito took care of Jinpei, figuring that it was the least he could do, for Jun. He just wished that it could be more.

Then, about two weeks after Jun had disappeared, he was on the playground with Jinpei, when two men approached them.

One was the orphanage Administrator. Kito hadn't talked to him, much, but he certainly knew who he was. The other man was a stranger. He was impeccably dressed, wore glasses, and had a bushy, brown mustache.

"This is the boy, Jinpei." the Administrator was saying. A cold fist of fear clenched itself around Kito's heart.

"What do you want with Jinpei?" he asked boldly.

"The good Doctor is going to adopt him." the Administrator informed Kito.

"Adopt him?" Kito protested, "No, you can't!"

The Doctor crouched down to look at Kito, eye to eye.

"And why not?" he asked, calmly.

"Be-because…" Kito stuttered, "Jun will be so upset! She'll be expecting to see him, when she gets out of the hospital!"

"She's like a mother, to him." Kito added, hoping that this man would show some mercy.

"I am adopting Jun, as well." the Doctor told Kito, smiling. "She told me about Jinpei, and how he needed to be with her. I'm sure she'll appreciate that you were taking such good care of him, in her absence."

"Jun… and Jinpei… adopted?" Kito was stunned. Adoption was every child's dream, but few at the Mt. Jupiter Orphanage ever realized it. Kito was happy for Jun and Jinpei, but he realized what this meant. His only friends would be gone, forever.

"I can promise you, that they will have a good life, and I will teach them how to protect themselves." the Doctor said, seeing the stricken look on Kito's face.

Kito believed him, but that didn't make it any easier to bear. As he watched Jinpei walking away with the mustached Doctor, his chest heaved with quiet sobs.

He had thought, at that time, that he would never feel worse than he did at that moment.

He was wrong.

A few months later, Kito overhead some older boys talking in the dormitory, one night. They bragged about how they had taken Jun from the playground, and violated her.

_That_ was why she had ended up in the hospital.

That was the first time in his life, that Kito had felt like he wanted to kill someone. But it wasn't the last.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Hurry up!" screamed Sergeant Kyle, tearing Kito away from his unhappy memories. "Lord Katse is coming to inspect the mecha! You louts have ten minutes to get ready!"

Kito took a quick look at the wiring in front of him. It looked okay. Ten minutes was _just_ enough to give it a final check.

But it wasn't enough time for _everyone_ to complete their assigned tasks.

"I'll need at least fifteen minutes to finish installing the secondary couplings!" protested a soldier. Kito recognized him. His name was Branson, and he was known within their unit for being a little slow, and a little whiny.

Still, Kito felt sorry for him. Sergeant Kyle wasn't exactly known for mercy.

"Finish up!" Kyle shouted, throwing his fist into Branson's jaw. "You've got ten minutes, and you'd _better_ be done!"

Branson scrambled to work. Kito had never seen him move so fast.

Kito had just completed his task when a soldier ran in to announce that Lord Katse was coming. Quickly, he scrambled to his feet, getting in line with the other soldiers of his squadron. As Lord Katse entered the room, they all stood at attention in unison, snapping their heels and thumping their fists over their hearts.

Sergeant Kyle ran up to Galactor's Overlord and bowed obsequiously.

"We are honored by your presence, Sire." he said, in an oily voice.

"Yeah, yeah." Lord Katse placed his red gloved hand on Kyle's chest, pushing the man away as if he were contaminated with filth. This form of address obviously bored the purple-garbed leader.

"I just hope that this mecha is ready!" Lord Katse announced. "Leader X is impatient to begin our latest campaign!"

"It is ready for deployment, Sire!" Kyle insisted.

Kito couldn't help staring at Lord Katse. He had only ever seen him from a distance. The standard soldier's green uniform was ugly, and utilitarian, but it was nothing like the flamboyant garb of Galactor's leader. His purple cape floated behind him when he walked, as if he were a schoolboy playing at being a superhero. His fitted jacket, gloves, and boots were stylish, but in a metrosexual sort of way. It wasn't something Kito could see himself ever wearing. And the tights… what grown man wore tights like that? Kito guessed that it went along with the 'superhero' theme that had inspired the cape.

The mask was the most bizarre part of the entire ensemble. It looked part devil, part cat, part… goat? Something with weird horns, or pointy ears. Kito wasn't sure what to make of it.

He understood the desire of Galactor to enforce a certain anonymity among its soldiers. When one was anonymous, it implied that he was a small part of a larger, more important purpose. The individual was unimportant: it was the whole, the goal, that mattered. The standard green mask, worn by the rank and file, served that purpose, making it difficult to identify individuals.

But Lord Katse's mask was not intended to blend in with the crowd. It made him stand out, adding inches to his already tall frame. Its bizarre appearance invited people to stare at it, then lower their gaze to focus on his glossy, pink lips.

Perhaps that was it. Maybe, Katse felt that if people stared at his mask, and his face, they might pay more attention to what he was saying. Not that Kito was having any trouble listening now.

His body was rigid, standing stiffly, ready to bow at a strict forty-five degree angle when their Sire passed by. Kito could hear every word Lord Katse uttered.

"Hmmm… this looks like shoddy workmanship." he was saying. "How the hell am I supposed to deliver these mecha on Leader X's schedule when I have such incompetents working for me?"

The purple cape approached, and Kito made the requisite bow, a formal greeting of "Sire" passing his lips at the exact moment the Galactor Overlord passed by. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his fellow squad members doing the same. No one wanted to catch Lord Katse's attention. The concept of anonymity among the ranks had never been so appealing, as it was now.

Branson was not so lucky.

Katse stopped, right next to Branson's station, looking at the open panel, revealing the inner workings of Galactor's latest mecha.

"Didn't you say that this mecha was ready for deployment?" snarled Katse, whirling around to look Sergeant Kyle in the eye.

"Y-yes… Sire…" Kyle stuttered, bowing to the purple mask.

Kito noticed that Branson was trembling even more than the Sergeant.

"Then, _why_ aren't the secondary couplings wired into the energy banks?" Katse demanded, shaking his blood-red fist in Kyle's face.

"Uh…" Kyle looked around nervously. He looked desperately at his men, hoping to lay blame elsewhere.

"Who is responsible for this station?" Lord Katse shouted at the squadron.

"I am, Sire." Branson bowed low. "I didn't have enough time to finish the installation, but I will complete the task immediately, before the mecha is deployed." To his credit, his voice was steadier than Kyle's.

"No." Katse corrected him, "You won't." With an almost bored expression, he pulled Kyle's gun from its holster, pointed it at Branson and shot.

Branson fell to the floor, a smoking hole in his chest.

Kito's face blanched, and he tried his best not to stare at the lifeless body that had so recently been a Galactor soldier.

"You!" Lord Katse ordered, pointing his long, gloved finger directly at Kito, "_You_ will finish his work."

"Yes, Sire." Kito gulped, bowing before the Galactor leader and silently cursing the day he had ever heard of Galactor.

He remembered it clearly…

88888

At thirteen, most boys were becoming men, but not Kito. He was still small, and hadn't yet filled out with a man's frame. The older he got, the more dangerous it became to not belong to some kind of 'gang' at the orphanage. As a loner, he was a target, and frequently the recipient of verbal and physical attacks from the bigger boys.

So, reluctantly, Kito had joined a gang. It was either that, or be reduced to becoming a victim, as Jun had been. Kito still thought of Jun, sometimes, and wondered where she was… how she was doing.

Of all of the groups at the Mt. Jupiter Orphanage, Kito's gang was the least likely to cause trouble, but that wasn't saying much. _All_ of the gangs were bad news.

Kito quickly realized that despite his small size, his skill with machines was valuable. This was proven to him, one night, when his new 'friends' decided that it would be fun to go joyriding in the Administrator's car. Kito's knowledge of engines allowed him to hotwire the vehicle, and he did so, at their request.

But barely half a mile from the orphanage, they heard police sirens. Their driver, a bumbling fifteen year old with more bluff than bravado, was pulled over, and before they could blink, the lot of them were hauled off to see a judge who didn't appreciate being woken up from his nice warm bed, to preside over a middle-of-the-night proceeding from his bench.

Apparently, someone had seen the Administrator's car leaving the orphanage parking lot, and after determining that he was still in his office, the vehicle had been reported stolen. Upon learning who was responsible, the Administrator had identified all of the boys as troublemakers, and had left their fate up to the judge.

Not being of a kindly manner, the judge decided that youth and lack of prior convictions should not be taken into account, and each of the boys was sentenced to three years in juvenile detention.

Kito spent what was left of the night at the police station in a 'real' jail, scared out of his wits. In the morning, he was taken to the Komora Ridge Juvenile Detention Facility. He did not know where the other boys were taken, as he was transported by himself.

He was alone, again.

Once he got to Komora Ridge, he found the same environment that he had encountered in the orphanage, only more extreme. If a boy was not part of a gang, he was prey for everyone else. It only took Kito two days to find himself a new gang of protectors, and now Kito knew how to promote his mechanical skills to prove his usefulness to them.

It wasn't long before Kito had the reputation of being the person you went to, if you needed something fixed, or repaired. For the most part, Kito didn't think too much about _what_ he was working on; more often than not, it was some sort of homemade weapon. As long as he wasn't on the receiving end of that weapon, it just wasn't worth it to ask questions.

One day, about three months after he had come to Komora Ridge, a guard he didn't recognize approached him.

"You're Kito Abbott, aren't you?" he asked. His tone was not threatening, but neither was it friendly.

"Yes, Sir." Kito replied, hanging his head. He didn't know why this man wanted to talk to him, but it couldn't be good.

"I've heard that you are quite handy at fixing things." the guard said. "Mechanical things."

"That's what I've been told, Sir." Kito answered, still avoiding eye contact with the guard.

"Then, I'd like you to fix something for me." the guard ordered. "Come with me."

Reluctantly, Kito followed, with a sinking feeling in his stomach. This _had_ to be some kind of trap. But short of openly disobeying the guard, he didn't have a choice.

Kito was led to a small workroom, which was stocked with all kinds of tools, many of which Kito had never even seen. For a moment, he was tempted to start using them, to see what they could do, before he remembered where he was.

"I would like you to fix _this_ for me." the guard said, unwrapping a large bundle.

Inside the bundle was a semi-automatic rifle.

Kito had never fixed a weapon this complicated before, but it could hardly be more difficult than building a motorcycle engine from scratch. At least, he hoped not.

Nervously, he took a deep breath, and sat down at the workbench. He examined the rifle from all angles, removing the clip, and testing it. It was obvious that one of the mechanisms was jammed.

The guard said nothing, merely watched him carefully through narrowed eyes. Kito decided that it would be best to ignore him, so that he wouldn't get any more nervous than he already was.

Carefully, he selected a few tools. They were pretty crude and simple, compared to the other items available, but they were what he was comfortable using. He didn't want to try out something new, and botch the task at hand.

Slowly, Kito took the gun apart, opening the casing, scrutinizing its inner workings. He analyzed the weapon carefully, mentally noting where each piece had come from, before he removed it.

Kito easily located the broken pieces, and was able to fix them without incident. He then meticulously put the rifle back together, checking each piece to ensure that it was in the proper position.

When he was finished, he checked the weapon, ensuring that it appeared to be in working order. He was too nervous to test it with the clip in.

The guard was not. When Kito had hesitantly pushed the rifle toward him, the man picked up the gun, replaced the clip, and shot at the opposite wall.

The shots rang out in the stillness of the room, and Kito nearly jumped out of his seat at the sound.

The guard grinned widely, and for the first time, gave Kito a friendly look.

"That's a great job!" he congratulated him. "But I just have one question."

"What's that?" asked Kito, nervously. He was uncertain what to make of the guard's change in attitude.

"Why didn't you use any of these tools?" he asked, waving his hand to indicate some of the more sophisticated items near Kito.

"I… I don't know how to use those." Kito admitted. "I've never had a chance to use tools that fancy."

"Well, we'll make certain that you're trained in their use." the guard smiled, speaking more to himself, than to Kito.

"That's all, for now." he dismissed the boy. "You can find your own way back to the Exercise Yard, can't you?"

Kito nodded, not entirely sure what had just happened. He was eager to escape this unfamiliar, and uncomfortable situation. He hoped with all of his heart that he would never have to speak with the guard again.

But the guard sought him out, the very next day.

Kito was sitting in the Exercise Yard, working on a broken radio, when the guard approached him.

"I'd like to speak with you, Kito." he said quietly.

"Okay." Kito nodded, keeping his eyes on his work.

"Not here." the guard stated. "Follow me."

Reluctantly, Kito put down his tools and the radio, and followed the guard. The other boys made sure not to look at him, lest they draw the attention of the guard.

Kito was led into a small room he had never seen before. It contained a table, some chairs, a couple of vending machines, and a few newspapers. He realized that it must be one of the guards' break rooms.

The guard indicated that Kito should sit down, and then he did the same.

"Do you like it here, Kito?" he asked the boy.

Kito wasn't sure how to answer the question. He loathed Komora Ridge, and was eager to leave. But he had more than thirty months left on his sentence, and he didn't see himself going anywhere, anytime soon. Was it a trick question? If he told the truth, would he be punished?

The guard smiled knowingly at Kito's hesitation to answer.

"I take it, by your silence, that the answer is 'no'." the guard prodded.

Slowly, Kito nodded, his eyes on the floor.

"If you'd like, I can arrange it, so that you could leave here." the guard offered.

Kito's head snapped up, staring at the guard with disbelief. How could such a thing be possible? It _had_ to be a trick.

"I can make it happen." the guard whispered. "It's been done before, for boys with special… talents… like yours. Usually we wait for the boys to be released, but in your case, we're willing to arrange an early departure."

"Departure?" asked Kito, confused.

"I work for an organization called Galactor." the guard revealed. "We're always looking for good people, particularly those who have mechanical talents." He studied Kito carefully, gauging the boy's reaction to his words.

"You… you don't work for the State?" the boy asked, confused. He had thought that the prisons and juvenile detention facilities were run by the government.

"Well, yes." the guard laughed, although Kito didn't get the joke. "I work for them, as well. But my primary job is with Galactor." he clarified.

"If you would be willing to work for Galactor, too, then we could arrange your release, Kito." the guard said.

"What would I have to do?" Kito asked suspiciously. This sounded too good to be true.

"We would train you, with tools like the ones you saw in the workroom, yesterday." the guard replied. "We have many vehicles, and other mechanical things, in our organization. We would teach you how to build and repair them."

"So, I'd get to work with vehicles?" Kito asked, his eyes shining. He was unable to hide his excitement. "Motorcyles?"

"Yes, we have a number of motorcycles." the guard nodded. "And larger vehicles too."

But Kito didn't hear him. He would get a chance to work on motorcycles… and maybe drive them too.

"So, do we have a deal?" the guard asked. "Will you come work for Galactor?"

He could leave Komora Ridge, and work on motorcycles. Kito didn't think about it for long.

"We have a deal." he agreed, shaking the guard's proffered hand.

He didn't realize then, that he had just made a deal with the Devil.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Galactor had held up its end of the bargain. Kito had been released from Komora Ridge two days later, and he had received high-level training on mecha construction and repair.

After a couple of years, Kito had felt that he had given Galactor enough service, and had asked to leave. He had been told, in no uncertain terms, that it was _not_ possible. He had signed up for a _lifetime_. Even more, if he ever had children, they, too, would work for Galactor.

That alone kept Kito from looking at women. He didn't want to get some girl pregnant, and bring a baby into the world, only to serve Galactor. At eighteen years old, he now knew what he hadn't at thirteen: Galactor was a self-serving, vicious organization, headed by a purple-masked psychopath. Kito was pretty sure that 'Leader X' was just a figment of Katse's imagination. No one had ever seen the being known as X, and lived to tell about it, other than Galactor's leader. It was a way for Katse to motivate, or terrorize, his minions.

Even worse, Kito had become resigned to this life. He had not even lived two decades, but he accepted that the rest of his life would be spent under Galactor's thumb.

Hence, his motto: _do your job, don't make a fuss_.

Kito could see that others felt the same way. At least half of the Galactor rank and file were not there by choice, but by threat. And yet, they were _all_ resigned to being there. They had all accepted their fate. Everyone knew what happened to people who tried to leave Galactor.

"We've been ordered to attach our mecha component to the main body!" called Sergeant Kyle, returning from his audience with Lord Katse. "Steungart! Bring in the transport!"

Steungart ran off to fetch the giant motorized platform, which would be used to transfer their project to the main hangar. Kito examined their finished component. It was a large hand; specifically, a right hand, somewhat pudgy in design, belonging to some unknown creature.

Kito had never understood Lord Katse's pre-occupation with building mecha that looked like creatures, but he had long since given up trying to comprehend the Galactor Overlord's decisions. He just did as he was told, and tried his best to keep his nose clean.

None of the men knew the ultimate design, or purpose, of the mecha under construction. It was always that way. Galactor held information close to the vest, disseminating it only on a need-to-know basis. And a simple mechanic did _not_ need to know _where_ his work was eventually going to end up.

But they were about to find out.

With excruciating slowness, the hand was lowered to the platform, and the men then carefully anchored it to the vehicle. When your life was the cost of making a mistake, it paid to take every precaution.

Once they had finished, the men all got onto the platform as well, and a signal was sent to Steungart, who slowly drove the vehicle toward the main hangar.

Whatever kind of creature this hand belonged to, Kito could easily guess at its purpose. Lately, every mecha Lord Katse had designed was intended to defeat the Science Ninja Team. Kito had never seen them up close, because he was usually assigned to the Ghost Island Mecha Factory. Once the mecha left, invariably Kito never saw them again. They were always destroyed.

Kito was curious about this Science Ninja Team. He admired the five individuals who stood up to Galactor, and reportedly made Lord Katse tremble in his blood-red boots.

And yet, it seemed that the Science Ninja Team was no closer to defeating Galactor, than Galactor was to defeating them. While they continued to destroy Lord Katse's mecha, they were unable to prevent Galactor's progress toward its ultimate goal of world domination. The ISO was apparently unaware of how much progress Lord Katse was truly making on this front, as most of his efforts were secretive. The mecha attacks served mostly as distractions, and it was obvious to Kito that they were not seriously expected to succeed. For every mecha that was constructed, and destroyed, Galactor managed to secure at least double the amount of its construction materials in new resources, usually taken from undiscovered deposits, from right under the UN's nose.

Kito understood the value of these resources. There was only so much metal, so much gold, so much uranium, on the planet. The organization that had the most resources would eventually be the victor. This was why Lord Katse was trying so hard to undermine the Mantle Project. If the ISO discovered such a powerful, renewable energy source, there would be no stopping them, and Galactor's power would dwindle to nothing.

When it came right down to it, Galactor was no different from those playground gangs at the orphanage: trying to bully, threaten, and coerce everyone into doing what they wanted. They violated innocent, defenseless people, much the way that those boys had violated Jun, on that terrible day.

Kito forced his mind away from these depressing thoughts. The mecha was nearly complete, and once it left the base, he would be allowed a couple of days to himself, to relax. He could finally get some more work in on the new motorcycle he was designing. The mecha he usually built had inspired him, and he was creating a special, retractable cover over it, to convert it to what amounted to a sleek, slim sportscar. He had left it alone for far too long, but, of course, his work for Galactor always took precedence.

Distracted by these thoughts, Kito gasped when he looked up, upon entering the main mecha hangar. The hand apparently belonged to some kind of giant gorilla. Sure enough, they were directed to a position directly under the gorilla's right arm, and hoisting equipment was provided for their use.

Kito's unit attached the hand to the hoists, then carefully raised it up and into position. Kito climbed up the scaffolding around the mecha, then began assisting his team in securing the hand onto the arm. He had to hand it to Lord Katse and his blueprints: the hand fit perfectly, even though this unit had never consulted with the unit constructing the arm.

Once the outer edge of the hand was attached, Kito flipped open an access panel and crawled inside, connecting the hand's wires, gears, and other mechanical components to the main body of the mecha. While he was in there, he remembered to wire the secondary couplings into the energy banks, as Lord Katse had ordered.

No matter how much Kito despised this existence, he didn't want to end up like Branson.

Once Kito had finished, he climbed back down the scaffolding, coming face to face with Sergeant Kyle.

"All finished, Sergeant." Kito reported.

"Did you remember to wire those couplings, Abbott?" Kyle asked him.

"Yes, Sir!" Kito saluted.

"Good." Kyle replied. "Get back in line, Abbott."

Kito was surprised. Shouldn't Kyle be dismissing them, now?

But apparently not.

"I have good news, men." Sergeant Kyle announced to his unit. "We have been ordered to assist in the operation of this mecha."

The men looked at each other in confusion. What did that mean? They were a construction unit. None of them had actually ever _operated_ a mecha before.

"Lord Katse wants us stationed onboard, to perform field repairs, in case the mecha is damaged, while on assignment." Kyle explained.

Kito understood. Lord Katse didn't want this mecha destroyed by the Science Ninja Team. If they damaged it, Kito's team would be assigned to repair it as quickly as possible, so that an effective defense could be mounted.

Of course, the speed at which such repairs would have to be performed, was near impossible to achieve. Kito didn't want to think of how many things could go wrong, when trying to repair a mecha that was under bombardment by Bird Missiles.

But that was what he was apparently being assigned to do.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Your target is the Primary Thermal Hub of the ISO's Mantle Project, in the town of Centarra." Lord Katse informed his troops. "You are to take the King Kang mecha there, and destroy it."

"If, by chance, the Science Ninja Team should arrive," Katse continued, a strange expression on his face, "you are to destroy them at all costs. I know that you will not let me, or Leader X, down!"

"Yes, Sire!" the troops shouted, slapping their hands over their hearts, and bowing in unison.

"I, myself, will be onboard King Kang, to lead you all to victory!" cried Katse.

The green-uniformed squadrons below the Galactor Leader let out a rousing cheer, before moving away and heading to their various stations.

"King Kang?" Steungart whispered to Kito, as they walked. "Where does he come up with these names? First the Turtle King, then Gezora, and now this?"

"It was probably suggested by his tailor." snickered another soldier, with the name of Pantillo. He was relatively new, and still inclined to look at life with a jocular attitude. "After all, that guy must have a sense of humor, to make Lord Katse those bizarre clothes!"

"Actually, I think it's from an old movie." Kito replied. "Something about a giant ape climbing buildings and knocking out planes with its bare hands."

"That makes sense." muttered Steungart. "It's pretty obvious that Lord Katse wants this thing to take out the God Phoenix."

"Do you really think we'll see her?" Kito asked.

"It's pretty likely." Steungart shrugged. "Don't they always seem to show up, right where we are, lately?"

"Maybe, they just want to see our new toys." Pantillo suggested. "Seeing as how they use the same ship all of the time, they must get bored."

Everyone rolled their eyes at this. Even for Pantillo, it was a pretty lame joke.

"You all, stop talking!" shouted Sergeant Kyle, as he walked by. "We have a job to do!"

"What a grump!" complained Steungart. "Do you think, if the Science Ninja Team shows up, they'd shove a Bird Missile up his ass, for us?"

"Well, I don't think they'd do it _for us_," Kito pointed out, "but I certainly wouldn't be too upset, if they singled him out."

"I heard that they're just kids." Pantillo revealed. "My brother was on the Ibukuron mecha, and he said that they didn't look any older than we are: maybe eighteen or twenty."

"That'd really burn Kyle, being taken out by a teenager, half his age." Kito laughed. "Besides, I heard one of them really _is_ a kid; not even a teenager yet."

"Yeah, I remember someone talking about that one." Steungart added, "But from what I've heard, it's Gatchaman you have to watch out for."

"What about that Condor?" Pantillo asked. "Apparently, he's…"

"Shut up!" Sergeant Kyle cried, backhanding Pantillo across the face, sending him sprawling to the ground. "I told you guys to stop talking! Now take your stations!"

Steungart rolled his eyes at Kito, but sat down without further comment.

Kito paid attention to his monitors. There was no point in getting in trouble now. Besides, their job was important. If they could keep the mecha operational for even a few seconds longer, it might make the difference between winning and losing, against the Science Ninja Team.

There were no windows in their assigned location on the mecha, so Kito had to look at monitors to see what was happening outside. The hangar doors opened, and King Kang took giant steps outside of the Galactor base, into the waters surrounding Ghost Island.

Kang walked along the ocean floor for nearly two hours. The men were all beginning to get bored, but every time they tried to talk amongst themselves, Sergeant Kyle yelled at them, enforcing their silence with his fists. Kito couldn't see the point. They were possibly going to their deaths, if the destruction of Galactor's other mecha were any indication of what they faced. What was the problem in letting the soldiers relieve some of the tension, by talking?

Of course, Kyle probably didn't see it that way. He had a small amount of power, and had gone wild with it. He had a reputation for using heavy-handed methods. Of course, knowing the way Katse treated his men, it was probably that aspect of his character that had gotten Kyle promoted in the first place.

Eventually, they reached their target. King Kang slowly walked out of the water, revealing itself to the town of Centarra. Kito could see tiny people running for their lives, as the mecha approached.

Apparently, Lord Katse knew exactly where he was going. The gorilla mecha marched steadily through town, crushing cars, people, and even houses, beneath its feet. Kito tried hard not to think about the innocent civilians losing their lives in the city.

"Whoo hoo! We got that school!" Sergeant Kyle cheered. "Do you think the kids were still inside?"

"It's Saturday." Kito pointed out, his voice a low growl. "I don't think school is in session today."

"Too bad." Kyle said, in a disappointed tone. He didn't appear to notice the dark expression on Kito's face.

Without warning, the mecha stopped. It had reached the cluster of ISO buildings, in town. King Kang began to storm through the complex, stepping on smaller buildings, and tearing down larger ones with its hands. For a moment, Kito was proud that the hand his unit had built was performing so well, until he realized just _what_ it was doing.

Small dots appeared in the sky, headed straight for King Kang. They approached quickly, and before long, Kito could see that they were UN fighter planes. The jets swarmed around Kang's head, shooting at the mecha's eyes, ears, and nose.

Kito felt the mecha rock slightly, but that was all.

"No damage!" laughed Sergeant Kyle. "Those stupid UN pilots! Why do they even bother? You'd think they'd know, by now, that they can't defeat the power of Galactor!"

King Kang opened its mouth, emitting a spray of rockets at the UN planes. The jets quickly burst into flames, falling to the ground.

Kito couldn't help wondering, whether or not those pilots had families, waiting for them at home. He felt sick to his stomach, and wished that he had never had to witness this. Suddenly, spending the rest of his life on Ghost Island didn't seem like such a bad prospect.

Looking around, Kito realized that he wasn't the only one who felt that way. Steungart and Pantillo appeared to be upset as well, and other men stared blankly at computer readouts. Only Kyle was expressing any kind of satisfaction, at what they were doing.

Just as it seemed that Kang would encounter no serious opposition, a blue and red shape appeared on the horizon.

"The God Phoenix…" Pantillo whispered. A sense of awe filled the room. Even Sergeant Kyle appeared fearful, for a moment.

"Pussies!" Kyle said, albeit somewhat unconvincingly, "King Kang can take them!"

The men were quiet, simply waiting for the inevitable.

It wasn't long in coming. Two Bird Missiles streaked through the air, hitting the mecha in the chest and throat.

The entire room jerked, and some of the men fell from their seats. Their monitors showed only smoke and fire.

But after a few moments, the smoke and fire cleared, and it became obvious that there had been no damage to the mecha.

This time, Kyle wasn't the only man in the room cheering. Kito himself was shaken, at having faced his own mortality. He found himself relieved, that the God Phoenix had been unable to hurt King Kang.

"The new shielding is holding!" Steungart breathed, a grateful expression on his face.

Not only was the shielding holding, but Kang's hands had begun to move. Faster than Kito would have thought possible, they reached out toward the God Phoenix, grasping it from two directions.

The ship, of course, attempted to pull away, and the power of its engines was significant. But Kang's grip held.

Almost.

Kito looked at his readouts, noticing that the shielding on Kang's left hand was beginning to buckle. Obviously the unit that had been responsible for that part of the mecha had done a shoddy job welding the pieces together. A quick glance showed Kang that his unit's right hand was still in perfect condition.

Despite the circumstances, a feeling of pride, in his work, surged in Kito's heart.

Kang's grip tightened on the struggling God Phoenix. Kito zoomed in his monitor view on the Science Ninja Team's vessel. He noticed hairline fractures appearing in the side, to the front of its wing. It appeared that this was the weak point on the ship.

Without warning, the God Phoenix began to glow a bright red.

"What the hell are they doing?" Steungart asked, shocked.

"It must be some kind of new weapon of Lord Katse's." Kyle offered.

"No, you idiot!" Pantillo berated the Sergeant, forgetting himself for a moment, "It's the Science Ninja Technique: Firebird! Their ultimate weapon!"

Silence blanketed the room. No one could tear their eyes away from the monitor as Pantillo was, indeed, proven correct. The God Phoenix began to flame, turning into an eerily beautiful fiery bird. A haunting cry echoed from the bird, piercing through the soldiers' hearts.

"What are you doing down there?" screeched Katse, breaking the quiet. His voice was coming through a large loudspeaker on the wall. "Gamma Team, go repair Kang's hands! _Now_!"

Indeed, the fiery God Phoenix was melting through the mecha's hands, beginning to pull itself free.

It was time to work.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Kito's unit rushed toward the damaged hand. The room in which they had been awaiting orders was positioned close to Kang's right shoulder, so all they had to do was make their way through his right arm, to the impaired appendage.

The arm could be positioned at all angles, and was currently moving, so the mecha made use of artificial gravity to keep the soldiers walking on the floor, instead of on the walls or ceiling. However, it wasn't perfected, and every time the arm moved, there was a sickening lurch that caused Kito's gorge to rise. He tried to concentrate on the task at hand, rather than the movement of the corridor around him.

Finally, they reached the elbow junction, where the main control mechanisms resided. Pulling off the covering panels, Kito inspected the data readouts from the hand. The rest of the men sat back, content to let someone else take charge.

"The primary gross motor functions are inoperable, due to fusing of the energy grid." Kito reported glancing over at the Sergeant. "We have to re-route main power through another junction, away from the area."

Kyle was looking a little green (and not just because of his uniform), and made no protest that Kito had stepped up to take charge.

"I… I can do that." Steungart volunteered, and Kito nodded at him.

"Okay, you and Pantillo take that job." he said. "Everyone else needs to work on preventative measures, to protect the rest of the mecha, in case this gets worse."

Randomly, Kito divided the remaining men into three groups.

"You, men, make sure the bulkheads are in place, and ready to go, in case we lose the entire hand. Second group, ensure that the appropriate fire suppression and coolant systems are active. That ship is emitting close to three thousand degrees, and it could fry us in a second. The rest of you, work on re-routing command and power functions for the rest of the hand's functions, in case they are compromised as well."

The men stared blankly at Kito for a moment, not sure what to make of his sudden leadership.

"Well?" Kito asked. "Does anyone else have any suggestions?"

Lowering their heads, the men quickly dispersed to their assigned tasks. Sergeant Kyle lay slumped in the hallway, barely registering what was happening around him, as his unit stepped over his body to complete their work.

Kito let out a long breath. What in hell had possessed him to give orders like that? He had just looked at the readouts, and had immediately known what to do. He guessed that his nervousness, at being in the middle of a live battle against the Science Ninja Team, had added a sense of urgency to his actions.

But now was not the time for psychological analysis. They had a job to do.

Looking back at the main informational systems, Kito noticed something new.

All functions in the right wrist had just failed. It was beginning to weaken, under the intense pressure of the Firebird attack. If it broke off, the hand would become effectively useless.

The only way to strengthen it would be to physically reinforce the wrist from the inside. There were plenty of materials available for the job, and it could be done within a minute, if someone sufficiently experienced were to take on the task.

"Finished, Abbott!" Steungart said, appearing at Kito's shoulder. "I guess we dodged that bullet…" his voice trailed off as he saw what Kito discovered, on the readouts.

"Who's going to take care of that?" he asked nervously.

"We can't send anyone in there!" Pantillo objected, glancing over and seeing the situation for himself. "It's suicide! Abbott already told us that it's close to three thousand degrees!"

"Only right at the fingertips." Kito said quietly. "The heat levels at the wrist should be bearable… if that shielding is still holding."

"You're not seriously considering this!" Steungart said.

"Who else will do it?" Kito asked.

Suddenly, Kito's knees began trembling. It didn't help that there was a sudden lurch as the gravitational system re-adjusted itself.

Seeing the queasy look on Kito's face, Pantillo protested.

"Abbott, you can't do that, and Steungart, we shouldn't ask him to!"

"Yes, he will!" said Kyle.

The three soldiers turned to look at the Sergeant, who was still lying on the floor. He looked weak, but had apparently realized what was going on.

"If Abbott can save our asses, then he's gonna do it!" Kyle sputtered. "Get in there, now, Abbott!" he ordered.

"Yes, Sir." Kito nodded, his heart sinking. There was no turning back now.

Without looking at his comrades, he opened the hatch to the maintenance shaft that led to the lower part of Kang's arm, and crawled inside. Kito heard them shut and seal the door behind him, the loud clang echoing around him.

He was alone.

In order to make the repair, he needed additional materials to reinforce the wrist. Fortunately there was a materials storage locker about halfway between the elbow and the hand.

Exiting the other side of the shaft, Kito found himself in a corridor similar to the one he had just left, only this one seemed to be moving more frequently (and therefore requiring more frequent adjustments to the artificial gravity).

Nervously, Kito gulped. He knew what he had to do, but the very idea that he was walking toward the fiery warship of the Science Ninja Team terrified him beyond anything he had ever known. Even the momentary feeling of panic he had had back when the Bird Missiles had been fired at the mecha, had been nothing, compared to this.

He moved slowly down the corridor, each step taking longer than the one before. Why was he doing this? Why was he risking his life to make this repair? Did Galactor deserve this loyalty from him?

If Kito didn't make the repair, the mecha would probably be destroyed, and he would likely die. But if he did make the repair, he could easily die performing the task.

It was a no-win situation either way.

Kito thought of his comrades, Steungart and Pantillo. They weren't close, but they were the nearest thing Kito had had to friends, since Jun. If he made this repair, they had a much better chance of surviving.

Still, Kito found himself reluctant to move. Even only twenty percent of the way down the forearm, he could feel the searing heat from the God Phoenix's Firebird. He began to sweat inside of his uniform, although it was not _entirely_ because of the soaring temperatures.

He _had_ to do it. He _had_ to.

Gasping for air, Kito sunk to the ground. He was fooling himself. He wasn't a hero. How the hell had he really expected to be able to pull this off? He was a coward: someone who was too afraid of dying, to grasp the only chance they had.

He was just grateful that no one else was here to witness his cowardice.

His head in his hands, Kito searched deep inside of him, for the strength to go on.

But there was none to be found.

Without warning, Kang's arm jerked, throwing Kito up against the ceiling. The artificial gravity was unable to compensate, and he found himself battered and bruised, rolling around the empty corridor as the arm flailed. Frantically, Kito grasped at an emergency ladder embedded into the wall, sighing with relief when he was able to grab hold of the solid rungs.

A loud crack, and the sound of metal scraping against metal, rang through the hallway.

In the blink of an eye, a bright flash filled the end of the corridor. Despite himself, Kito looked, only to see that Kang's entire right hand had been ripped away. He was staring straight down the end of the mecha's forearm, out to the blue sky beyond. A streak of flames passed by, seconds before the entire mecha shook violently.

A horrible screeching sound, like nails on a chalkboard, filled the air, and Kito realized that King Kang was being torn apart.

He had failed.

There was a horrible lurch, and Kito literally felt like his stomach had flown up into his throat, as the mecha dropped like a stone toward the ground. There were a few seconds where he _knew_ that this was the end… that everything in his life had come down to this… that there was nothing more for him.

It only took a few seconds before Kang's arm hit the ground, and Kito's body was whipped around in the air, even as he continued to hang onto the ladder. His head crashed against the wall, and Kito blacked out.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Some time later, Kito awoke, groaning and rubbing his head where it hurt. This was one hell of a migraine.

It took a few minutes for Kito to comprehend that he was still alive. With that realization came a rush of pain, from every corner of his body. Carefully, he sat up, rubbing his head; moaning and grimacing.

Kito wasn't sure how he had survived the mecha's destruction, but he was grateful. He had not realized how much he valued his life, until he had been convinced that it was over.

He had been given a second chance.

Kito tried to pull himself to a stand, only to wince when he placed weight on his left ankle. Gingerly, he rotated his foot. It was excruciating, but he was able to perform the maneuver, which suggested that it was a sprain, and not a break. He yanked on his sleeve, tearing off enough of it to create a makeshift bandage, which he tied as tightly as he could around his ankle. It was already the size of a baseball, and sure to only get larger.

Having exhausted his minimal medical knowledge, Kito forced himself to put weight on the ankle, and begin walking. It wasn't as painful as he would have imagined, probably because the ache in his head was significantly worse.

The direction in which Kang's elbow had been located, was now a twisted, crushed mass of metal debris. However, Kang's wrist was still open to the outside, so it was in this direction that Kito moved. He limped slowly down the corridor, grateful that it was still daylight, so that he could see his way out.

When he reached the ragged hole and looked outside, he gasped.

He was standing in what had once been some kind of building. Based on the mecha's location, before its destruction, Kito guessed that this was one of the ISO buildings Kang had crushed, just prior to the arrival of the God Phoenix. Smashed masonry, splintered wooden beams, chunks of plaster, and shattered glass surrounded him, interspersed with destroyed furniture, and the occasional body. It was obvious to Kito that none of the people he saw were alive. They looked as if they had been crushed, by the building falling on top of them, as they worked.

They had had no warning of what was coming.

A wave of guilt washed over Kito. How could he have been a part of this? Sure, he had nearly died as well, but when he had boarded the Kang mecha, he had realized that death was a possibility. All these people had done, was go to work in a quiet building, sitting at a desk, sipping coffee, using a computer… only to have their life ended before they realized what was happening.

The world spun around him, and Kito leaned on a pile of rubble as his stomach emptied itself onto the ground. Wiping his mouth with his one remaining sleeve, Kito looked around him. There was devastation as far as he could see, in all directions.

What was he supposed to do now? There was no sign of anyone around, either from Galactor, or the ISO. Having no better option, Kito began limping away, in a randomly chosen direction.

After about thirty minutes, Kito had made some progress, although not as much as he would have liked, due to his difficulty navigating through piles of rubble, with a sprained ankle. He stopped to rest, gasping for breath, partly due to his exertions, and partly to find air that didn't reek with the stench of death and destruction.

"Abbott?" came a voice, "Is that really _you_?"

Startled, Kito looked around. After a few seconds, he found the person addressing him.

It was Pantillo.

"You survived!" Pantillo said, amazed. "I can't believe it!"

"Neither can I." Kito groaned, making his way to Pantillo's location behind a half-destroyed wall. "My body seems to be telling me that I'm dead, but my brain says I'm alive."

When Kito rounded the wall, he was surprised to see Steungart lying on the ground, slumped against a pile of rubble.

"He hasn't woken up, yet." Pantillo said, his concern etched on his face.

Kito clumsily sat down next to Steungart, and felt for a pulse. It was weak, but steady.

"I think he'll be okay." he said to Pantillo, in as reassuring a manner as he could manage. It wasn't a very good attempt, but it seemed enough to satisfy his comrade.

"I hope so." Pantillo sighed, sitting down next to him.

"So, where is everyone else?" Kito asked.

"I don't know." Pantillo shrugged. "The Firebird melted King Kang's left hand, and the right hand couldn't hold it all by itself. It broke free, and punched a giant hole in Kang's chest."

Kito gave an audible sigh of relief. His cowardice hadn't been the cause of the mecha's destruction. The right hand had held. It had been the left hand that had failed. He hadn't even realized that this worry had been weighing on him, until it was suddenly gone.

Pantillo continued, not noticing Kito's reaction to his words.

"It was then, that the mecha started shaking, and we all got separated. The damn thing tore apart, and I saw some of the guys fall out…"

The soldier looked up at Kito with a stricken expression.

"It's okay." Kito said, placing a hand on Pantillo's arm. "I understand."

"Lord Katse got away." Pantillo said, a touch of bitterness in his tone. "I saw his escape pod, flying away."

"I'm sure, he did everything he could, before he left." Kito offered, knowing that neither of them believed the statement.

The two men stared at the ground, in silence, for a long moment.

"So… what do we do, now?" Pantillo asked, in a weak attempt to change the subject.

"I guess, we wait." Kito said, not entirely sure himself. Neither of them had ever been in this situation before. "Don't they send someone to pick us up, once it's clear?"

"Yeah… I guess so." Pantillo replied. "I almost forgot." he added, tapping behind his ear.

It gave Kito the creeps to think about the locator chip Galactor had implanted in his head, shortly after he had joined. But now, he was almost glad for it. They knew he was alive, and would be coming for him. He wouldn't be abandoned, in midst of this devastation.

"I'm getting kind of hungry." Kito said, almost to himself. "I wonder if we could find anything to eat."

"I think there's a shelter." Pantillo volunteered. "I saw a bunch of Red Cross workers setting something up."

"I doubt they'd let us in there." Kito said ruefully, gesturing toward the remnants of his green uniform. "I think that's only for UN citizens."

"So, what?" Pantillo asked. "Technically, we _are_ UN citizens right? I was born in Iropa, and you're from Mt. Jupiter."

"Yeah, but…"

"So, we borrow some clothes." Pantillo suggested, ignoring Kito's protest. "It's not like these people need them, anymore."

Kito's sense of morality protested at wearing the clothes of a man his mecha had killed, but his hunger finally won out.

"Okay." he agreed. "We'll look for…"

His words were interrupted by a shout.

"I think I see it, over here!"

The voice was coming from behind the remnants of the wall, against which the two soldiers were leaning.

Carefully, Pantillo pulled himself up on his knees, peering through a crack in the wall.

"It's the Science Ninja Team!" he hissed, his voice a mixture of fear and excitement.

"What?" Kito's bladder nearly emptied itself, but he managed to reign in his fright.

"They're just over there!" whispered Pantillo.

Kito crawled over, next to Pantillo, to look out of the crack, with his comrade.

Sure enough, there was the Science Ninja Team, or, at least, four of them. They appeared to be standing around a piece of Kang's head. Fortunately, the wind was blowing toward their position, carrying the ninjas' words to them.

"This looks like the main data module from the gorilla mecha." said one. He was relatively short, and Kito quickly realized that this one was the child he had heard about.

"That's the Swallow!" Pantillo whispered excitedly. It was fairly obvious that the man was somewhat obsessed with the Science Ninja Team. Kito supposed that it wasn't a bad thing: to be informed about one's enemy.

"I think you're right." said another. It was obvious from the way she spoke, and the differences in her uniform, that she was female.

"I didn't realize that there was a woman…" whispered Kito.

"The Swan." Pantillo said. "My brother claims to have gotten a good look under her skirt, once, but I think he's full of it. Anyone who's ever gotten that close to her is dead."

Kito shook his head at Pantillo's gossip. It was typical of Galactor locker room talk.

"I can recover the data tapes." the Swan reported, "But they're corrupted. I don't know how much information we'll be able to get."

"Just do your best." replied a man in white wings. Kito's heart pounded in his chest. He didn't need Pantillo's commentary to know that this was Gatchaman. He had been called 'the White Shadow', and Kito could see why. In the bright sunlight, his appearance was almost blinding, forcing you to look away.

Or, maybe that was just Kito's terror, at seeing Galactor's greatest threat, only thirty feet away from his position. He gulped nervously.

The Swallow wandered off, away from the soldiers' location.

The other man turned to talk with Gatchaman, while the Swan worked at her task.

"We came too late." he growled in anger. "I can't believe the entire complex was destroyed!"

"The Condor." Pantillo informed Kito. "He's supposed to have a bad temper."

"At least, we destroyed the mecha." the Swan offered, not looking up from the data module.

"So what?" spat the Condor. "How many innocent lives were lost? How much of a setback is this, to the Mantle Plan? Sure, Galactor lost a mecha, and a few soldiers. Katse accomplished his goal. He wins again."

"We'll get him." Gatchaman said resolutely. "One day, he'll pay, for all of this."

"It can't come soon enough for me." the Condor replied angrily.

Suddenly, Kito saw a flash of green, at the edge of his vision.

"What's that?" he asked Pantillo.

"I don't know…" came the reply. "Wait… it's Kyle!"

As the form drew closer, Kito could see that it was, indeed, Sergeant Kyle. He was approaching the Swan from behind, apparently escaping the notice of Gatchaman and the Condor, for the moment.

But not for long.

"Jun!" the Condor cried, just as Kyle aimed his pistol at the woman's back.

The Swan spun around, in time to see a silver object race through the air, slicing through Kyle's throat, and returning to Gatchaman's outstretched hand.

"Galactor scum." Gatachaman muttered, as he re-holstered his weapon.

"I _knew_ Gatchaman was a hero!" Pantillo crowed. "I should send him a thank you card, for getting rid of Kyle for us!"

Kito barely heard his comrade's words. His mind was awhirl with other concerns. The Condor had called the woman, Jun. _Jun_. No… it couldn't be. It was a common enough name. Just co-incidence.

"Are you all right, Onechan?" called the Swallow, running up to their position.

"I'm fine, Jinpei." the Swan replied. "And even better, I'm done. We can all get out of here, now."

The two soldiers watched as the Science Ninja Team departed. Kito's thoughts were racing through his head, going around and around in circles.

The Condor had called her Jun. And she had called the boy _Jinpei_. That was _too_ co-incidental, wasn't it? The Swallow was a kid… about the right age, judging by his height, and immature voice.

Was it possible? That Jun and Jinpei, whom he had known at the orphanage, were now members of the Science Ninja Team?

Suddenly, Kito felt terribly ashamed. Here, they had all come from the same place, the same beginning, but Jun and Jinpei were doing something noble… something to help the people of the planet. While Kito… he was using his talent to help a madman conquer those same people.

At that moment, Kito wished that he had died with the King Kang mecha.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Kito was so distracted by what he had seen, that he barely acknowledged putting on the clothes that Pantillo had 'found' for him. He helped dress Steungart, who was still unable to do anything for himself, although he had awoken enough to begin moaning softly. Kito took that as a good sign.

Once they had gotten rid of their green uniforms, the three men made their way through the rubble, to the Red Cross shelter. Kito and Pantillo supported Steungart between them, carrying him around the debris that only hours before had been a thriving ISO research complex, full of workers.

The shelter had been hastily set up inside a school. As the three men approached, they saw a long line of people waiting to be admitted, and they joined the end of the queue. The Red Cross was reasonably efficient, and it didn't take long before they were at the front. Steungart had regained enough consciousness to understand what they were doing, and Kito felt confident that he wouldn't accidentally mutter something he shouldn't.

"What are your names?" asked a worn-looking woman. She appeared to have been through a great deal in the last few hours. Despite her ragged face, her voice was kindly, and she offered them a comforting smile.

"Kito Abbott."

"Emilio Pantillo."

"Friedrich Steungart."

The woman looked at Steungart.

"Do you need to see a doctor?" she asked.

"No…" Steungart shook his head, protesting weakly. "I just need to rest…"

The woman appeared doubtful, but the doctors obviously had their hands full, so she refrained from any further comment.

"There are cots in the back of the gymnasium, and food is being served in the cafeteria." the woman informed them, as she handed them nametags to wear.

"Thank you, Ma'am." Kito said respectfully, as they moved away from the table.

"Should we have done that?" Pantillo asked.

"Wait a minute: _you_ were the one who suggested that we come here!" Kito protested.

"I mean, should we have given her our real names?" Pantillo replied, obviously having second thoughts.

Kito sighed.

"I don't think it's an issue. It's not like our employer publishes records of everyone who works for their organization."

"I guess you're right." Pantillo acknowledged. "It just makes me a bit nervous…"

"As you mentioned earlier, we are UN citizens." Kito pointed out. "Our data is on file. Suppose they checked out our DNA? Our names had better match up, or we would _really_ have some explaining to do."

"Yeah… okay." Pantillo sounded a little less nervous.

Kito just wanted to drop it. They couldn't change their actions now, and while they were here, they might as well have something to eat. He was starving. He guessed that crashing to the ground from a mangled mecha increased one's appetite exponentially, with the distance of the fall.

Sighing, Kito shook his head. Here he was, hiding in a Red Cross shelter, surrounded by the 'enemy', and he was making bad engineering jokes. At least he hadn't said anything out loud.

Despite his earlier protest, Steungart wasn't in the best condition. Kito and Pantillo got him to a cot and laid him down, leaving a packet of crackers and a bottle of water next to him, in case he woke up, then headed to the cafeteria for a warm meal.

The beef stew being served was hot, and surprisingly tasty, for having been put together at the last minute. They ate at a long table, surrounded by other people who had been affected by Kang's attack. Kito tried hard not to look at anyone else. He didn't want to see the pain and misery on the faces of those who had just lost their homes, or their loved ones, because of something he had helped to construct.

He raised his head, glancing across the room, to avoid having to look at the people seated across the table from him.

A group of Red Cross volunteers were leading a group of children through the cafeteria. Some of them were obviously being reunited with their parents, while others held on forlornly to the remaining volunteers, desperately scanning the crowd for signs of anyone familiar to them.

But, tragic as the scene was, it was not the focus of Kito's attention. One of the volunteers was a girl with long, ebony hair. She smiled gently at the children, comforting those who had not yet found their families. Her head turned, and Kito saw a pair of sorrowful green eyes, taking in the pain of the little ones around her.

It was Jun.

She looked just as she had the last day he had seen her, only much more beautiful: heartbreakingly so. Even more familiar, was the way she was taking care of the youngest refugees, just as she had taken care of Jinpei, all of those years ago.

She stood, and Kito saw that she was wearing a shirt with the number 3 on it.

"Panti… uh… Emilio…" he nudged his companion, "The Science Ninja Team… they have numbers, right?"

"Yeah." mumbled Pantillo, who was more interested in his plate, than in any form of conversation. "Gatchaman is G1, the Condor is G2, the Swan is G3, and the Swallow and the Owl are G4 and G5." He began sopping up the leftover stew on his dish with the biscuit he had been given, not bothering to ask why Kito had wanted to know such mundane details.

The Swan was G3… the Condor had called her Jun… and here was a woman who bore an amazing resemblance to Jun, in a shirt with the number 3 on it…

No! What was he thinking? Would the Science Ninja Team really be that obvious? This woman likely had nothing to do with them. But perhaps… just _perhaps_… she might be the Jun he had known, all of those years ago.

His heart began pounding in his chest. This woman looked so much like Jun, and she was around the right age.

Kito nearly choked on his stew, when an older child approached her. He had a mop of scraggly brown hair, and a prominent overbite.

And…. he wore a shirt with the number 4 on it.

The Swallow was G4… wasn't that what Pantillo had said? Kito looked over at his comrade, who was now digging into a slice of apple pie, oblivious to his neighbor's train of thought.

No… it wasn't possible. Yes, those two members of the Science Ninja Team had been named Jun and Jinpei, and these two people looked so much like the children he had known, over a decade ago. But… was it truly they? Were Jun and Jinpei really across the room from him? Even more, were they actually members of the Science Ninja Team?

Deep inside his heart, Kito knew that the answer, to all of these questions, was 'yes'. He stared at them, fascinated, but too flustered to approach them himself. The more he observed them, the more convinced he became in his belief.

A handsome young man approached them. He had bright blue eyes, and a shaggy head of light brown hair.

Most significantly, his shirt bore a number 1.

Kito's mind reeled. Was this _Gatchaman_? No… would they really be that obvious; wearing shirts that advertised their rank on the Science Ninja Team? This had to be a joke. Lord Katse would immediately see through something that transparent.

Or… or would he?

Kito thought about what he knew of Lord Katse. The man was insane, speaking with a Leader who didn't exist, wearing bizarre costumes, and that mask… he had an incredibly short fuse, and thought himself more brilliant than anyone else who had ever lived.

Lord Katse would _never_ suspect something this direct; something that practically slapped an observer in the face. If he even noticed these people at all, he would assume that it was some kind of trick, or a coincidence. Katse considered himself to be too 'sophisticated', to be duped by something this obvious.

It was the perfect cover.

Now Kito was fully convinced. He longed to speak with Jun and Jinpei: to re-connect with them, after all of these years.

But he remained in his seat, too frightened to move. The young man with the number 1 shirt spoke with them, and they nodded. The boy with the number 4 turned and left, the young woman doing so shortly thereafter.

The man with the number 1 shirt watched them for a moment, then turned with a soft smile, preparing to depart in the other direction.

As he moved close to the table where Kito was seated, the soldier jumped up, impulsively approaching him.

Intense blue eyes regarded Kito with a mild curiosity, inviting him to speak.

"Uh…" Now that he was here, Kito wasn't sure what to say. He decided to simply ask what was on his mind.

"That woman… the one you were speaking with… is her name Jun?"

The man raised his eyebrows in mild surprise, but did not appear to be upset by Kito's question.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked quietly.

"She… she looked like someone I used to know." Kito mumbled, his momentary courage fading fast.

"I don't think so." the man replied calmly, beginning to move away.

Kito panicked slightly. He couldn't lose Jun now, after all of this time.

"Are you sure?" he pleaded, placing his hand on the man's arm.

An icy gaze turned to meet his. With a cold certainty, Kito knew that this was, indeed, Gatchaman, who was speaking to him.

"I'm sorry." the man said, his tone dismissive. "She's no one you would know."

Kito let his arm fall to his side, staring at the man, as he left the shelter. He returned to his table, sinking back down into his seat, beside Pantillo. His comrade looked at him curiously.

"So, what was that all about?"

"Nothing important." muttered Kito.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

It only took twelve hours for the three soldiers to be picked up by a Galactor transport, which was much faster than any of them had expected. As it turned out, they weren't the ones the transport had specifically come to fetch. Galactor recruiters had infiltrated the Red Cross shelter, preying upon those who had lost everything, offering them new lives with Galactor. Those who had families were invited to bring them along, and promised that Galactor would see to their children's education.

Kito found it amazing, that people would turn around and join the organization that had just destroyed their lives, but apparently, many were willing. The majority of UN citizens was tired of war, and only wanted to live in a place where they could be free of the terror and violence. They didn't care who was in control of that place.

Kito, Pantillo and Steungart hitched a ride with the new recruits, making their way back to the closest Galactor base, where they were quickly transferred back to Ghost Island. Steungart had recovered sufficiently that he was returned to duty.

Kito had been deeply affected by seeing Jun, and discovering that she and Jinpei were a part of the Science Ninja Team. Their task was significant: they were important. If they were gone, the planet would be hurt, by their loss.

It was obvious to Kito that his knowledge of the Swan and the Swallow's identities was of great value to Galactor. Yet, he refrained from passing on this information, out of respect for his friendship with Jun and Jinpei, and for what they were trying to accomplish.

In comparison to the Science Ninja Team, Kito's existence was completely meaningless. If he were to die, he would not really be missed. He had no real purpose, or value, in life. In the blink of an eye, his actions had all seemed entirely inconsequential. It was this, even more than the fact that he was actually working _against_ Jun and Jinpei, that bothered him more than anything else.

This feeling was reflected in his work assignments. Since, for the moment, Kito's unit no longer had a Sergeant, the men were delegated the most menial of tasks, performing low-level maintenance all over the base, that required little to no supervision. Kito performed this work with a bare minimum of attention, his mind instead wondering how he had sunk to this level of insignificance.

And so it was, that Kito found himself kneeling on the floor of a conference room one afternoon, repairing a glitch in the air conditioning, as Lord Katse walked in with two of his officers.

"I can't believe King Kang broke down like that!" Katse was ranting. "That mecha was supposed to tear the God Phoenix apart, but instead his hand melted off! Gatchaman must be laughing at us, right now!"

"Actually, the Condor was pretty angry." Kito mumbled, without thinking.

"What?"

Despite his obvious insanity, it appeared that Katse had excellent hearing.

"Did you say something?" the Galactor leader demanded of Kito.

Mentally berating himself for having spoken out loud, Kito clumsily rose to his feet.

"Yes, Sire." he replied, staring at his feet.

"Well?" screeched Katse, "What did you say?"

"I… I said that the Condor was angry." Kito repeated. "After Kang crashed, I was concealed among the rubble, when I heard the Science Ninja Team. They were surveying the area. The Condor was angry, because you had managed to destroy the entire base with the Kang mecha. He felt that you had won that engagement."

Lord Katse's smile was wide, and menacing.

"So… the Condor felt that I had defeated them, did he?" Galactor's Overlord was obviously pleased by this news. "I guess a useless mecha is a small price to pay, for defeating the Science Ninja Team."

"But, Sire, you were the one who designed the Kang mecha…" one of the officers interrupted. The man's words froze on his lips, as a dark look was cast at him from under the infamous purple mask.

"The problem is: we need another mecha, _fast_!" Katse complained. "Leader X is insisting that we finish work on the Monde Operation! In order to complete that project, we need additional uranium stores. But the ISO isn't going to just let us walk in and take them!"

"Why not, Sire?" asked the same officer. It was apparent to Kito that he had not been promoted because of his intelligence. "Their defenses are weak!"

"The ISO is weak, but the Science Ninja Team is not!" Katse cried, shaking his fist in the man's face. "The moment we appear at a uranium mine, they'll be all over us! We need a mecha that can defeat them!"

"Not necessarily…"

Everyone turned to stare, astonished at Kito. Lord Katse looked at him in amazement. It was apparent that the Galactor Leader had forgotten that Kito was even in the room.

For his part, Kito was wondering what was wrong with him; that he kept thinking out loud, in front of Lord Katse. He fully expected to have a bullet in his head, within the next few minutes.

Given that he was a dead man already, Kito impulsively decided to speak his mind. At least, he could do _something_ of consequence, before he died.

"All you need, is to get the uranium, Sire." he spoke. "The ISO defenses are minimal. Send a few regular transport vehicles to collect the ore."

"And what about the Science Ninja Team?" Katse demanded.

"They will be too busy to respond." Kito shrugged. "Send out a decoy mecha, far away from the uranium mine. It doesn't matter if they destroy it, since what you're really after is the uranium."

"And _how_ do you propose that I get this decoy mecha?"

"We have a lot of extra mecha parts in the storage warehouses." Kito shrugged. "Just put a few together… enough to make the UN call for the Science Ninja Team. It doesn't have to be good."

"You know, that's not a bad idea." mused Katse, thoughtfully tapping his gloved finger against his chin.

"It's not?" asked Kito, and the two officers, in unison.

"No…" Katse was oblivious to everyone's surprise. "What's your name, Private?"

"Abbott, Sire." Kito clapped his fist over his heart. "I'm with Mecha Construction Unit 4."

"Unit 4… they lost their Sergeant, didn't they?"

"Yes, Sire. Sergeant Kyle is no longer serving Galactor."

"Well, you seem qualified, Sergeant Abbott." Katse grinned. "I want this mecha built in three days. Can you do it for me?"

"Yes, Sire!" Kito clapped his heels together, bowing low before the Galactor Leader.

"Excellent. I'll come to inspect it, then." Katse declared, sweeping out of the room. The two officers followed behind, praising their leader's astute decision.

Kito was stunned. Within the space of two seconds, he had gone from performing routine maintenance, to being in charge of Galactor's next mecha.

Perhaps his life had a purpose, after all.

88888

Kito and his men worked long hours, over the next three days. The new Sergeant split his unit into three teams, and had them working around the clock. His men were thrilled to no longer be working for Sergeant Kyle, and appreciated Kito's fair, non-abusive command style. The mecha wasn't beautiful, but it was solid enough for its purpose, and could be operated by only a handful of men.

Mecha Construction Unit 4 hoped that Lord Katse would be pleased.

When the Galactor Overlord first saw the mecha, his reaction was hardly impressive. His screech of disappointment could he heard all around the Mecha Construction Bay.

"What the hell is that?"

"We call it, Melduthra, Sire." Kito explained.

The mecha had the torso shell of the Turtle King, the legs of King Kang, the head of Gezora, the wings of Ibukuron, the eyes of Mechadegon, and the claw-like arms of Kamisoral. It was the most bizarre thing Kito had ever seen, however it had the advantage of being built entirely with parts that had already been constructed, requiring virtually no further outlay of resources.

Once he had explained this to Lord Katse, the purple-garbed Leader was much more receptive.

"_No_ additional resources?" Katse gloated, "And it should last long enough to keep the Science Ninja Team away from the Indrian Uranium Mines? Wait until I inform Leader X!"

"May I dismiss my men, then, Sire?" Kito asked. "They have been working non-stop, and deserve a break."

"Yes, yes." Katse replied, waving his hand in a disinterested fashion. "Whatever you want."

Kito turned to his unit, grinning widely.

"Okay, soldiers, you have twenty-four hours' leave! Enjoy!"

The men whooped and cheered, some of them dancing little jigs. They had all put their best efforts into this mecha, to ensure that it was ready on time. Lord Katse was pleased, and they had a supervisor who was actually reasonable to work with.

Steungart and Pantillo winked at their Sergeant as they filed out. Kito moved to follow them, but Katse placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Not _yet_, Sergeant." Katse smirked. "I'd like you to accompany me to the control room, where we will monitor Melduthra's progress _together_."

With a sinking feeling, Kito understood. If Melduthra failed, the Galactor leader wanted someone to blame. Someone upon whom he could unleash his wrath.

Kito was ready to face that wrath, if it was deserved. But he felt that it wasn't. Melduthra didn't have to last long. Its only purpose was to delay the Science Ninja Team for an hour or so, while the uranium acquisition project was underway.

Four of Lord Katse's officers accompanied Kito, and their leader, up to the control room, watching as a fleet of transport vehicles were dispatched to Indria's uranium mines, from a base in the north of that country. They were ordered to conceal themselves close to the mines, and await further orders. Melduthra was staffed with a half dozen soldiers, who were ordered to attack the costal town of Haliford. The town itself had no resources, ISO or UN installations, or strategic value. It was merely a target full of innocent people, who did not expect an attack from Galactor.

Kito felt his first twinge of guilt. He had been the one to suggest a decoy, but hadn't thought ahead, to the result that innocent citizens might get hurt. He hoped that the people would be able to get away from the mecha's destructive power.

At 0140 hours, Ghost Island time, Melduthra came into view of Haliford. Galactor communications personnel were able to monitor the distress calls placed to the UN, and even their official request to the ISO, for the presence of the Science Ninja Team.

By 0200 hours, hundreds of people were fleeing Melduthra's wrath, as it destroyed Haliford's entire waterfront area, slowly moving inward to decimate the town.

"Sire, the God Phoenix is approaching!"

The report from Melduthra's command center was encouraging. The plan was working!

Immediately, the transport vehicles were ordered to approach the Indrian uranium mines. They did so, and were quickly able to quell the little resistance that was offered against them.

Kito was fascinated, watching the entire operation from this perspective. Four monitors displayed various views of Melduthra, both inside and out, while three others showed views of the transport vehicles accessing uranium stores. The two locations involved were literally a half a world away from each other (Haliford had been purposely chosen for this very reason), yet it all unfolded before Kito's eyes, in the Ghost Island Command Center.

The God Phoenix was circling Melduthra, apparently trying to see what it had to offer. The ship carefully avoided the Kamisoral claws, apparently recognizing them from their previous incarnation. It reminded Kito of an 'Old West' showdown, with two gunfighters circling each other in the street, each assessing the other's strengths and weaknesses.

Predictably, the mecha grabbed for the God Phoenix, in an attempt to damage it. As expected, the God Phoenix avoided the clumsy maneuver, and sent a Bird Missile in response.

Kito held his breath for a long moment, as the flames and smoke from the attack cleared…

Melduthra was undamaged! Kito felt like whooping and leaping into the air. His mecha was performing as it was supposed to, and not being so easily defeated that the Science Ninja Team had a chance to reach the Indrian mines, before it was too late.

Lord Katse clapped Kito on the shoulder.

"So, Sergeant Abbott, it looks like your cobbled-together mecha is doing its job!"

A surge of resentment washed through Kito. He and his men had worked hard on Melduthra. Sure, it was built from spare mecha components, but in his eyes, it was a thing of wonder. How dare Lord Katse insult his project!

The Galactor leader did not notice the anger in his subordinate's eyes. He merely laughed, drinking a glass of wine, as he saw his transport vehicles leaving with the badly-needed resources.

The operation had been successful.

Meanwhile, the God Phoenix had transformed, using the Science Ninja Technique: Firebird. Melduthra, having received a communication informing them that they could return to Base, turned around, and attempted to flee. Unfortunately, the mecha had been constructed on top of King Kang's legs, and was not built for speed. Ibukuron's wings were activated at the highest setting, but even that added power was not enough to allow the mecha to outrun the Firebird.

With an eerie screech, the flaming God Phoenix tore through the wings, tearing them off, leaving a gaping hole in Melduthra's back. The Science Ninja Team's ship returned to its usual blue and red frame, then shot a Bird Missile through the breach that had been created.

Kito felt a tear fall from his eye, as his precious mecha exploded into fragments of searing hot metal. Lord Katse turned, and caught sight of his emotional visage.

"Oh, look!" he sneered, "Sergeant Abbott's upset that his junkyard mecha was destroyed!"

The Galactor leader and his officers shared a laugh at Kito's expense. Kito seethed inside, but was somehow able to contain his rage long enough to lower his face, so that Lord Katse could not see his expression.

"Don't worry about it, Abbott." Katse smirked. "That piece of recycled garbage did what it was supposed to, and Galactor has its uranium stores. Leader X will be pleased."

Kito watched as Lord Katse left, still chuckling about the entire incident, with his officers. It almost seemed as if the purple mask was laughing at him, and his value as a person.

What the hell had he been thinking? Kito had poured himself into the construction of Melduthra, with the understanding that he was accomplishing something worthwhile for Galactor. Yet, while his mecha had accomplished its purpose, it was insulted and sneered at by Lord Katse and his officers.

They didn't respect Kito's work, at all.

How dare they? Look what Kito had been able to accomplish, in only a few days! Lord Katse designed mecha from scratch, that had fared no better against the Science Ninja Team. What could Kito do, if _he_ had those kinds of resources and backing?

He was determined to show them.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

A few days later, Kito was still simmering over the insulting treatment his Melduthra mecha had been subject to. Since his unit had no official project to which they were assigned, for the moment he was able to work off his anger by spending a fair bit of time on his neglected hobby. His motorcycle prototype was nearly finished. Kito touched her lovingly, admiring her sleek lines and beautiful form. He could hardly wait to finish her, and take her for a spin around Ghost Island.

His pleasant reverie was interrupted by the sound of multiple sets of footsteps in the hallway outside of the hangar. The door closest to Kito's work area was shoved open unceremoniously, two green-uniformed soldiers entering the room. They stepped aside, standing left and right of the doorway, to reveal a man encased in a swirling purple cape.

"Sire!" Kito exclaimed, leaping to his feet and thumping his fist over his heart. "It is an unexpected…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Lord Katse muttered dismissively, waving his red-gloved fingertips in Kito's face. "I want to speak with you."

"Yes, Sire!" Kito bowed low.

"Leader X desires a new mecha, to defeat the Science Ninja Team." Katse began, "I would like to…"

His voice trailed off, yellow masked eyes narrowing as the Galactor Overlord noticed what Kito had been occupied with, before his arrival.

"What is _that_?" he asked, pointing at Kito's motorcycle.

"This?" Kito was taken aback. "This is just something I'm working on, during my breaks. A hobby. It's a prototype…"

"What does it do?" Katse questioned Kito, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, it can move extremely fast." Kito revealed, proud of his creation. "It can travel at speeds over four hundred kilometers an hour. I've also given it a boosting ability, to allow it to jump over high objects, without any kind of ramp or additional lift. There's even a protective shielding that can be raised and lowered, similar to what we have used on some of the large mecha…"

"How many more can you make?" Katse interrupted him.

"Uh… as many as you would like, Sire." Kito replied excitedly. Lord Katse was interested in his motorcycle! And he wanted _more_ of them! Now, Kito could work on his special hobby every waking moment.

"I've been thinking about the way the Science Ninja Team operates." Lord Katse revealed. "They have individual mecha, that combine into the God Phoenix, making it more powerful. This allows them a great deal of versatility, to adjust to many different forms of attack. I would like to have a number of individual mecha, that combine to create a larger, more powerful attack machine."

Kito's mind raced with possibilities.

"I… I could create the protective shielding in such a way that each motorcycle connected to the next one…" he thought aloud, "like… a form of serpent… and combined, the serpent could have entirely new abilities… enough to take on the God Phoenix…"

"Excellent!" Lord Katse clapped his hands together, bringing Kito's thoughts back to the present moment. "I'll need thirteen of these individual mecha. You have ten days!"

"Ten days…" Kito repeated. "Yes, Sire!" He snapped his heels together, bowing low. His mind was already working out the different options available to him.

"You had better not fail me, Sergeant Abbott!" Katse threatened, but Kito did not hear him. He was already lost again; preoccupied with the potential for these new motorcycle mecha.

"I won't, Sire!" he replied perfunctorily, barely aware of what he was saying.

88888

As they had before, when constructing Melduthra, Kito's men worked around the clock, in three separate teams, to complete their project on time.

Kito was extremely proud of what his unit had accomplished, together. They had created a dozen identical motorcycles, beautiful to the eye. Each vehicle was equipped with front and rear-firing rockets, and capable of generating large smoke clouds, to discourage pursuers, in addition to the abilities his original design had incorporated.

Additionally, there was one special motorcycle, which had been constructed from Kito's original prototype. Unlike the others, its front was completely covered, concealing a powerful drill, which was capable of boring through solid steel or concrete, and had a more powerful arsenal of weapons.

The other motorcycles could line up behind thirteenth vehicle, to create the large serpent mecha. Once activated, the serpent mecha could fly through the air, and grab its own tail, rapidly spinning in a circle, creating a dangerous vortex attack. This attack could be used to grab hold of an approaching vessel, at which point each motorcycle's wheels could be replaced by powerful buzzsaws, capable of cutting through any known metal, including Whisker.

When properly activated, the serpent mecha could become a swirling, slicing tornado of destruction.

Lord Katse arrived to examine the mecha, and watched as Kito and his men put it through its paces, demonstrating what it was capable of. Kito himself drove the special lead motorcycle, which transformed into the head of the large serpent mecha.

When they had finished their presentation, the serpent mecha came to rest in front of the Galactor leader, separating into its component pieces. The men got up in unison, standing next to their vehicles and saluting their leader in traditional fashion.

"For Galactor!" they shouted.

"Excellent, excellent!" Katse cried, clapping his hands together. "Most impressive, Sergeant Abbott."

Kito beamed, standing next to the lead motorcycle.

"We are ready to operate the mecha for you, in whatever capacity you desire, Sire." he grinned.

"Oh, that won't be necessary." Katse replied dismissively. "You will deliver the vehicles to the Blackbird training area, immediately."

"Blackbirds?" Kito was stunned. "But, why?"

"So they can train on the mecha!" Lord Katse replied impatiently, as if he were speaking to a small child who didn't understand the simplest of concepts. "How else are they going to use them to defeat the Science Ninja Team?"

"But… Sire… since we know best how these machines operate, we just assumed…"

"That's your problem, Sergeant: you _assumed_." Katse smirked. "If necessary, you can assist in training the Blackbirds, but _they_ are the ones who will be operating these mecha."

The Galactor leader turned, leaving the room in a swirl of purple cape.

Kito stood, frozen, his mouth opened in shock. He had poured his heart and soul into these mecha, and _he_ wasn't going to be allowed to operate them?

Lord Katse had betrayed him… _again_.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

As it turned out, the first thing the Blackbird Captain did was call for Kito's assistance, in training his men on the vehicles. While Kito resented the way he had been squeezed out, he knew that it wasn't Captain Yabane's fault, and did his best to help the Blackbirds learn how to operate their motorcycles.

Captain Yabane had been assigned the task of operating the lead vehicle… _Kito's_ motorcycle… but seemed to quickly recognize that this was a sore subject for Kito. He treated the Sergeant with respect, which Kito appreciated. He was even more impressed when he discovered that Captain Yabane was actually Koji Yabane: a champion motorcycle racer whom Kito had admired in the past.

The two developed an understanding, if not a friendship, and Kito at least felt that Captain Yabane respected the vehicle that had been placed into his care.

Kito spent a few days instructing the Blackbirds on the various features of their new vehicles, while Captain Yabane taught them various driving techniques. Kito was allowed to observe during these sessions, and while he enjoyed them, he always felt frustrated; his fingers itching to take control of one of the vehicles, himself.

The last thing Kito did was to describe the special features of the lead motorcycle, to Captain Yabane. This included overall control of the Serpent mecha. The trickiest part was the shielding. On a normal mecha, the shielding would have been permanently in place, but because the shields retracted on the individual motorcycles, both the physical _and_ the energy shields had to be manually activated, to ensure appropriate protection for the Serpent mecha.

Kito emphasized this last point to Captain Yabane, who promised to remember to activate the energy shield _as well as_ the physical shields, when the Serpent mecha was formed.

His task complete, Kito could only sit back and observe, as the Blackbirds left Ghost Island on their new mecha, to prepare for their assigned mission.

Fortunately, Lord Katse insisted that Kito accompany him to the control room, to be present as the mission took place. While Kito knew that the Galactor leader only wanted a scapegoat in case something went wrong, he was secretly grateful for the opportunity to see his mecha in action.

The Blackbirds' first mission on the new mecha was to gain entrance to an Ameris military base, and trigger the nuclear missiles secretly stored below its seemingly innocent exterior. Lord Katse had already obtained the assistance of Ameris' top general in securing the base, so this was actually a poor test of the motorcycles' capabilities.

Still, Kito watched with pride as the vehicles drove in formation, leaping over the twelve foot high fence, barely noticing the security guards who ran to greet them. They were performing exactly as they had been designed to do. They then fell through an opening in the tarmac, into an underground hangar. They raced down a hallway, until they encountered Lord Katse's contact. The Blackbirds dismounted, removing their explosive devices from their storage compartments, and ran to the storage bay for the nuclear weapons. Since the cameras were only mounted on the motorcycles themselves, the men in the control room could not observe the next stage of the operation.

A few minutes later, the cameras recorded Captain Yabane, still holding his explosive device (incidentally, the trigger for the entire operation) mount his motorcycle, and race outside, where he threw the device underneath a couple of jet planes.

The planes were destroyed, but they were inconsequential. Without Captain Yabane's device, the other explosives could not be triggered, and the operation was a complete failure.

"Damn him!" screeched Lord Katse. "What the hell is wrong with that idiot? Restrain him, immediately!"

The other Blackbirds took off, and using information provided by the Ghost Island Command Center, were able to locate Captain Yabane, and return him to their local base of operations.

Kito was dismissed. His mecha had performed as they were supposed to. It was Captain Yabane who was about to receive the full brunt of Lord Katse's wrath.

As he returned to his quarters, Kito briefly wondered what had caused the Blackbird Captain to disobey his orders that way. He knew the folly of openly defying Galactor. Perhaps there had been a good reason for what he had done.

88888

Apparently there had been. At least, Kito presumed so, because Captain Yabane was given another assignment. He was entered into a national motorcycle racing competition, which the Ameris President was scheduled to attend. As Kito entered the control room, to witness the mission, he discovered that Captain Yabane had been ordered to assassinate the President.

At first, Captain Yabane raced the vehicle to its full potential. Kito thrilled to see the motorcycle pulling ahead of the other racers, and it was clear that if he had wanted to, Koji Yabane would easily have won the race, adding yet another national championship to his record.

However, it was not to be. Kito heard Lord Katse giving instructions to the Captain, ordering him to assassinate the president.

But Kito was not paying attention to the Galactor Leader. He watched as his mecha leapt up into the stands, climbing at a forty-five degree angle, to reach the President's box. Captain Yabane activated the drill in the front of the vehicle, to gain entrance to the secured area where the President was seated. He pulled out his gun, able to control the mecha while using both hands to hold his weapon. Despite himself, Kito was impressed. Koji Yabane truly was an exceptional motorcycle driver.

Unfortunately, something happened, and the sights on the Captain's gun were destroyed. Kito wasn't sure how it happened, but when the mecha sailed over the President's box, Captain Yabane missed his shot, and did not succeed in his assassination attempt. The vehicle sailed over the top of the stands, landing over a hundred feet below in the parking lot, where it was joined by the other mecha, which raced away from the scene. The motorcycle's performance was impressive, even if its driver's had not been so.

With a gasp, Kito saw that two of the Science Ninja Team's vehicles were in pursuit of the motorcycles. Even worse, one of them was the Condor's racecar, and it was rumored that he was a driver of incredible skill.

Again the mecha performed beautifully. They were able to use their rear-firing rockets and smokescreens to evade the Science Ninja Team. Kito silently exulted in his beautiful creations.

As before, Kito was dismissed, while Lord Katse raged at Captain Yabane's incompetence.

88888

Barely an hour later, Kito was summoned again to the Command Center. He had no idea what was happening, but if his presence was required, it likely had to do with his mecha.

"The Blackbirds are going to use your Serpent mecha to bring down the God Phoenix." Lord Katse informed Kito, confirming his suspicions. "I just hope that it performs as you claimed it would."

"It will, Sire." Kito replied, bowing confidently.

"We'll see." muttered Katse.

Fascinated, Kito watched as the motorcycles lined up, connecting with each other, their protective shielding overlapping, to create the Serpent mecha. They launched into the air, not a moment too soon.

The God Phoenix was approaching.

As he glanced at the control readouts, something bothered Kito. He walked over to the panel, looking over the shoulder of the Operator, to get a better look.

There it was.

"That idiot!" Kito screamed. "You have to contact him, _now_!"

"What?" The Operator did not understand what the Sergeant was going on about, but then, he was used to having Lord Katse yelling at him, so this was hardly a problem.

"Contact Captain Yabane!" Kito cried. "Before it's too late!"

"Why?" interrupted Lord Katse, "What's wrong?"

"He forgot to activate the energy shielding!" Kito explained, "I must have told him a dozen times, and he _promised_ that he wouldn't forget."

"So, what does that mean?" Katse asked impatiently.

"It means," growled Kito, "that if they get hit with a Bird Missile, the Serpent mecha is going to be completely destroyed!"

"Comm! Get me Captain Yabane, now!"

But despite their attempts, they were unable to contact the Blackbird Captain. It appeared that he was ignoring all incoming communications.

Kito was raging. _How_ could he have done this? How could Captain Yabane be so careless with Kito's crowning achievement?

As these thoughts went through his head, the Serpent mecha formed a circle, grabbing its tail, then spinning rapidly through the air.

It latched onto the God Phoenix, and it appeared that the Science Ninja Team were in trouble. The buzzsaws began cutting through the enemy ship, and Kito noticed absently that the God Phoenix continued to show weakness on the portion of the hull directly in front of its wings.

Perhaps this wouldn't be a disaster, after all. If Captain Yabane could avoid being hit…

But even as everyone watched, the God Phoenix hurtled toward the ground, the Serpent mecha still firmly attached.

"He's going to do it!" Lord Katse cried victoriously, "He's taking down the Science Ninja Team!" He no longer appeared to be distressed that Captain Yabane was not communicating with the Command Center.

Kito held his breath. The intertwined mecha were rapidly approaching the ground.

2,000 meters… 1,500… 1,000… 800…

At the last possible moment, the God Phoenix did the impossible. It reversed direction, shooting up into the sky, shaking off the Serpent mecha, which crashed into the General's mansion.

Kito gave a huge sigh of relief. The mecha appeared to be undamaged. Certainly, it was salvageable. It had not been destroyed.

Yet, even as Kito mentally made plans for the Serpent's repair, something left the body of the God Phoenix, rapidly approaching the fallen mecha.

"No!" Kito cried, clutching helplessly at his head.

A fiery explosion confirmed that the object had been a Bird Missile. Tears fell from Kito's eyes as he saw the result of all of his efforts destroyed, in a matter of seconds.

"Why didn't he turn on the energy shielding?" the Sergeant muttered, oblivious to Lord Katse's anger. The Galactor leader was shouting at everyone in the Command Center, furious that Captain Yabane had botched his mission so badly.

But Lord Katse's rage was nothing, compared to that of Sergeant Abbott.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Kito spent the next few days keeping as much to himself as possible. He had been devastated to see his beautiful mecha destroyed, because of Captain Yabane's carelessness. He felt as he had that day in the playground, when Jun had been taken away from him, without warning. There was the same feeling of emptiness… of despair… of hopelessness.

Jun was doing something worthwhile with her life. She _mattered_. She was doing just fine without him, while since she had gone from his life, Kito had only experienced one miserable failure, after another.

Steungart and Pantillo left Kito alone; perhaps because they understood his pain, or perhaps because they just didn't know what to say to him. Neither did anyone else approach him. He had no friends, and he wasn't of much use to anyone.

But he was apparently wrong on that count, as he was summoned to a meeting with Lord Katse. Kito was surprised, but curious. His anger had worn itself out, and he discovered that he needed something new to occupy his mind, else he would keep brooding on the past.

When Kito arrived at the conference room, Lord Katse waved him inside, with his usual impatient manner.

"Well, it's about time you showed up, Sergeant Abbott!" Katse complained.

"I apologize for my tardiness, Sire." Kito bowed before the purple mask.

"Whatever. Just be on time!"

"Yes, Sire."

"Now that we're _all_ here," Katse sneered, "I would like to talk about our next plan of attack against the Science Ninja Team."

Kito looked around the conference table. He was the lowest ranking person in the room. He couldn't imagine why he had been summoned, along with this gathering of captains and officers.

"Anyone have any ideas?"

The men seated around the table all appeared to find their fingers, the floor, or the table, fascinating. They all studiously avoided meeting Lord Katse's gaze, much less answering his question.

"Well?" Katse stamped his foot impatiently.

Looking around the assembled group, Katse singled out one of his officers.

"Commander Loring…" he said, pointing at the trembling man, "What do _you_ think we should do?"

"Uh…" Commander Loring appeared as if he wanted to sink through the floor. He looked nervously around the table, as if asking for assistance.

He found none.

"Uh…" he repeated. "A… a new mecha?"

"A new mecha. A new mecha? A new mecha!" Katse screeched. "After all of the mecha that have been destroyed by Gatchaman and his damned God Phoenix? You think we need _a new mecha_?"

Commander Loring was obviously terrified. Lord Katse was leaning into his face, practically spitting on the officer, a sneer visible from underneath his pointed, purple mask.

Suddenly, the Galactor leader stood up, turning so quickly that his purple cape swirled around his legs.

"As it happens," he said calmly, "I agree with you."

The jaws of everyone in the room fell to the floor.

"And, interestingly enough," Katse continued, enjoying the reaction of his audience, "Out of all of you _supposedly_ qualified officers, there is only one person here in this room, who has consistently delivered mecha that have performed as promised."

Lord Katse turned to stare directly at Kito.

"So, Sergeant Abbott, what are _your_ ideas, for a new mecha?"

Kito was stunned. This was not what he had expected. But then, who ever expected to be put on the spot before Galactor's most powerful command personnel?

"Well…" Kito's mind worked furiously, thinking of everything he knew about the Science Ninja Team; which, admittedly, wasn't much.

"I've noticed that the God Phoenix has a weak spot." Kito stated.

"A weak spot?" Katse's eyes gleamed. "Where?"

"On the hull, in front of the wing. Particularly on the right side: in front of the storage bay for the G4 mecha." Kito elaborated. "During the God Phoenix's encounters with King Kang and the Serpent mecha, that was the first area of the vessel to literally crack under pressure."

"Interesting… please continue your train of thought, Sergeant Abbott."

"I think we need a mecha that can hold the God Phoenix, _and_ take advantage of that weak point." Kito said, revealing his thoughts aloud. He had almost forgotten where he was, and to whom he was speaking.

"Something that has a lot of gripping power, _and_ a powerful cutting tool… no… a drilling tool. The Serpent mecha was nearly successful in doing this, however when it wrapped around the God Phoenix, it was no longer able to control its own movement. We need something with a lot of tentacles… or arms… one or two of them equipped with powerful drills… that can remain in position while grappling the God Phoenix…"

"A spider!" Kito cried, leaping up excitedly.

"Now _this_ is what I'm talking about!" Katse smirked triumphantly. "Ideas! Something that the lot of _you_ all seem to be lacking!"

"Go build your Spider mecha." Katse ordered Kito, "Just make sure it's capable of taking on the Science Ninja Team, or it will be the _last_ mecha you ever build!"

"Yes, Sire." Kito saluted, his mind working on his new project.

88888

Kito pushed thoughts of his Serpent mecha from his mind, concentrating entirely on his new Spider mecha. His team had decided to name it 'Arachnotron', and they all put in their best efforts to complete her.

When Lord Katse came to inspect Arachnotron, he was visibly impressed.

"This appears to be a formidable mecha," he complimented Kito, "but is it _truly_ capable of defeating the Science Ninja Team?"

"Yes, Sire." Kito assured him. "We have given it the dual layers of shielding that have been effective against Bird Missiles in the past. Its structure is solid, and while it has eight legs, only two are actually needed for standing, or for movement. Alternatively, the support legs can be retracted, allowing the mecha to sit upon the ground."

"What about the other six legs?"

"They can be retracted as well, but they are not required for support of the mecha. Four of them are grappling arms, with hooks attached to grab onto a target, such as an attacking vessel. The last two have drills, similar to the one placed on the lead motorcycle of the Serpent mecha, but much larger in scale. This will allow Arachnotron to grab the God Phoenix and then tear it apart."

"That all _sounds_ good," mused Katse, "but, what if they attempt to use the Science Ninja Technique: Firebird?"

"Arachnotron operates very well _under water_." Kito replied. "She could lure the God Phoenix under the ocean, and attack it there."

"An excellent suggestion." Katse replied, mulling over potential strategies. "What about other weaponry?"

"We've enhanced Galactor's laser attack beams, and installed them in all of Arachnotron's eyes. There are eight of them, able to point in all directions. They work under water, as well."

"It appears that you have covered all contingencies, Sergeant Abbott." Katse congratulated Kito. "Now, disassemble the mecha!"

"What?" Kito wasn't certain that he had heard Lord Katse correctly.

"Disassemble it." Katse repeated. "We're transferring the mecha to one of our Ameris bases, on the West coast, north of Utoland. We will launch our attacks from that location. Your unit will accompany the mecha, and re-assemble it there."

"Yes, Sire." Kito saluted the purple-masked man. He was quivering with excitement. Arachnotron was going to be deployed!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

It took nearly a week for Arachnotron to be disassembled and slowly transported to the Ameris base. Lord Katse was apparently afraid of its detection by the ISO, so he was being extremely cautious, not wanting to move pieces of the mecha that were large enough to catch someone's attention. Then Kito's unit spent a few days re-assembling and testing the mecha, to ensure that it worked as it had on Ghost Island.

After that task was completed, Lord Katse ordered Kito's men to remain in the area, in case repairs were required, but they were given a few days' leave, while Kito helped to train the soldiers who would be operating the mecha.

The person chosen to command the mecha was Captain Jenkins. Kito didn't care much for the man, who was too full of his own self-importance for the Sergeant's liking, but he appeared competent enough to operate Arachnotron.

Still, he was beginning to grate on Kito's nerves, and he was grateful when Steungart and Pantillo returned from their leave.

"So, what did you guys do?" Kito asked them.

"We went fishing." Steungart told him. "Too bad you couldn't come with us, Abbott."

"That's what he gets for being a fancy-ass Sergeant." Pantillo ribbed him.

"Hey, he's a hell of a lot better than that idiot Kyle." Steungart retorted. Pantillo quickly agreed.

Kito smiled. It felt good, to know that his men appreciated him.

"So, did you catch anything?" Kito asked.

"Yeah, a bunch of sturgeon." Pantillo replied, "And Steungart caught a Leopard Shark!"

"Sounds like you guys had fun." Kito said wistfully.

"Yeah." Steungart nodded, oblivious to Kito's mood, "We rented a boat for a few days from this fat guy. He took us around the area and showed us the best fishing spots. I tell you, at first, I had my doubts about that guy, but he sure knew his fishing!"

"No kidding!" Pantillo added, "But it was that kid who showed you where the sharks like to feed."

"Kid?"

"The fat guy had a kid helping him out." Pantillo clarified. "In fact, the kid was the one who took us out the last couple of days. He was kind of goofy-looking, but not too bad. And boy, was he impressed with us!"

"Impressed? Why?"

"Well, Pantillo let it slip that we worked for Galactor." Steungart rolled his eyes. "You should have seen how freaked out the kid was! He kept asking us questions. I think he wants to work for Galactor, too."

"You didn't tell him about Arachnotron, did you?" Kito asked nervously.

"Not exactly…" Pantillo looked a little embarrassed, "but he did ask about our mechas. When we told him that we were the ones who _built_ the mechas, he was really interested. He wanted to know all about it! So, I told him that we were working on something that was top secret, but was sure to defeat the Science Ninja Team."

"You said, _what_?" Kito was aghast.

"Hey, Abbott, don't worry about it." Steungart reassured him. "He was just a dumb kid. He's not going to say anything to anyone."

"He'd better not." Kito muttered. The last thing he needed was some goofy kid alerting the Science Ninja Team to their plans.

88888

That same afternoon, Kito was just finishing up a training session with Captain Jenkins, when an alarm sounded.

"There's an intruder in the base!" Lord Katse's voice screeched over the comm channel. "One of those damned Science Ninjas! Find him!"

Kito's heart began to pound in his chest. Which member of the Science Ninja Team was it? He recalled those piercing blue eyes from the shelter. He knew that if he encountered Gatchaman, there would be no mercy. Kito's first instinct was to run and hide.

Captain Jenkins obviously had the opposite reaction.

"At last!" he grinned. "A chance to take down one of the Science Ninja Team." It was obvious that Jenkins thought a lot of his fighting skills.

Kito wasn't nearly as impressed with the Captain's abilities, but was relieved to have someone else willing to take charge, and step forward.

"All right, men!" Jenkins addressed the soldiers in the mecha hangar with them. "We're all going to stay together, and take out this Science Ninja."

"But, Sir…" one man offered, "the Science Ninja Team never…"

"I don't want to hear it!" roared Jenkins. "I don't want any pussies on my team! Now ready your weapons, and let's go find this intruder!"

But as it turned out, they didn't have to go anywhere. A dark shape flew into their view, dropping from the ceiling above.

Kito didn't need to see any more. He dashed behind Arachnotron, attempting to conceal himself behind one of her legs. In the bedlam that had followed their enemy's entrance, no one noticed what he was doing. Captain Jenkins was focused on the intruder, and the other soldiers were too concerned about their own welfare. Kito watched them approach, rifles held in their trembling hands.

He didn't have a very good view of the fight from his place of concealment, and Kito preferred it that way. It was difficult enough hearing the sounds of battle around him, without having to witness it. Kito's stomach lurched, as he heard soldiers cry out in agony, and fall to the ground, screaming for their mothers.

A sickening thwack was heard, and one man landed on the ground, his head coming into the Sergeant's view. His mask was half torn off, and the expression on his face was one of surprise, and horror.

Kito clutched his knees, rocking back and forth, praying, to any God who might be listening, that the walking death, that was the Science Ninja Team, would not find him.

His breathing became more and more ragged, and he recognized that he was becoming hysterical. Frantically, he tried to calm himself down, knowing that screaming would only give his position away to the enemy.

After awhile, Kito realized that he only heard the sounds of two combatants.

"You may have defeated my men, but you will not defeat me!" came Captain Jenkins' voice.

The only response was a loud crack, and then a thump. With a dreadful certainty, Kito knew that he would never hear Captain Jenkins brag again.

The only sound he heard was the thumping of his heart, as his mind imagined the slaughter that had taken place only a few feet from his hiding spot. He hoped that the Science Ninja would leave quickly, without discovering him.

All was silent, for a long moment. Kito released a long sigh of relief. He had escaped detection.

He was completely unprepared for the sight of a Bird Helmet peering around Arachnotron's leg. Kito's expression of shock was mirrored under his opponent's visor. From his position on the ground, looking up, the Sergeant could see his enemy's face clearly.

"Jinpei…" he whispered.

Kito was amazed. Jinpei's face had matured, but there was still a strong resemblance to the toddler he had cared for, at the orphanage, so long ago.

"How do you know my name?" Jinpei asked suspiciously, moving fluidly into a fighting stance. It was clear that he did not recognize Kito at all. But then, why would he? Jinpei had been so young, when they were last face to face…

"Please, don't hurt me!" Kito begged, the memory of the fallen soldiers still fresh in his mind, replacing those of a toddler in the orphanage.

"I'm not a threat to you." He held up his hands, backing away from the young ninja.

"Ain't that the truth!" Jinpei smirked. "All right. Tell you what: you show me the way into this Spider thing, and I'll let you go."

"Okay." Kito hurriedly agreed. However young Jinpei was, it was clear that his fighting skills were deadly, while Kito's were non-existent. The Sergeant scrambled to his feet.

"The entrance is over here." Kito gestured, moving slowly. He looked back over his shoulder apprehensively as he walked, but while the Swallow grimaced threateningly, he appeared to be keeping his word.

Slowly, Kito opened up a panel on one of Arachnotron's other legs, revealing a hidden lever. The Sergeant pulled the lever, causing an entrance ramp to lower to the floor of the Mecha Hangar.

"You first." Jinpei prodded Kito's back. The Sergeant didn't need to be told twice. He walked up the ramp, his hands clearly visible in the air.

Unfortunately, in his haste to co-operate, he had forgotten to turn on the interior lighting for the mecha. As they moved into the gloom, Kito tripped over a power cable, sprawling on the ground.

Instinctively, the Sergeant grabbed at the cable, pulling it taut, causing the Swallow to go tumbling after him, to the ground. Kito skittered away, much as a true spider would, while the young ninja rolled around in the dark, attempting to find his bearings as he entangled himself in the cord.

The unexpected sound of tromping footfalls was followed a second later by the sudden illumination of the chamber. Jinpei and Kito looked up, blinking in the light, to see Lord Katse standing over them, and two dozen rifles aimed at the ninja's position.

"Congratulations, Sergeant Abbott." Katse smirked. "You've captured the Swallow."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Kito stood in shocked silence as Jinpei was led away in restraints.

"Our timetable has been moved up." Lord Katse announced. "If the Swallow is here, it is likely that the rest of the Science Ninja Team knows about Arachnotron as well. We will launch our attack immediately!"

"Yes, Sire." the men surrounding the Galactor leader all bowed.

"However, Captain Jenkins is no longer able to fulfill his duties." Katse grimaced. He looked around at the soldiers and officers surrounding him.

"Men, what are your sizes?"

Calling off in order, the men shouted out the requested information.

"38L, Sire!"

"40R, Sire!"

and every other variety possible. Kito was confused, but when his turn came, he shouted out his answer as well.

"36L, Sire!"

When they had all finished, Lord Katse smirked, turning to Kito.

"Well, Sergeant Abbott, it appears that _you_ are being promoted. Congratulations Captain."

"Captain?" Kito was astounded. "_Me_? But why?"

"Well, you built Arachnotron, so no one knows more about this mecha than you do. And you're the one who came up with this plan to defeat the Science Ninja Team in the first place."

Kito smiled. He was being recognized for his talents.

"But most importantly," Katse added, "you fit the uniform."

Two soldiers rushed in, carrying the late Captain Jenkins' uniform. As with most Mecha Captain uniforms, it was designed to match the mecha under his command. Kito stared, horrified, at the garment displayed before him.

"You mean… I have to wear _that_?"

Mocking laughter erupted from Lord Katse's throat.

"It was _your_ idea to make this mecha in the shape of a spider, Captain Abbott." Katse reminded him.

88888

Kito got dressed, once the mecha had left the base and was on its way to San Frangeles, its target of attack.

The costume looked worse on him, than it did on the hangar. In keeping with the spider theme, the top half of Kito's face was covered by a black mask; with two eyeholes covered by some kind of red fabric that made everything look as if he were seeing it in a bloody haze. The mask stopped just below his nose, with eight long spider 'legs' dangling down, to cover his mouth. He looked like a bank robber sporting an out-of-control mustache.

The absurdity didn't end there. The rest of Kito was covered in a tight, black bodysuit, with an additional eight 'legs' sprouting from his waist, down past his knees, giving the effect of a hairy black hula skirt. When Kito pulled on the thigh high boots and above-the-elbow gloves, he realized that they were made of a glittery red 'webbing'.

The overall effect was hideous, and grotesque.

It was the perfect Mecha Captain's uniform.

Suddenly, Kito found himself wishing that Captain Jenkins had not been defeated by the Swallow.

With a sigh, Kito opened the door from his 'office', and walked into the corridor. He was excited about one thing: _he_ was going to be the one to command Arachnotron: the mecha _he_ had built. This time, he wouldn't have to worry about an idiot Captain forgetting to turn on shields, or not truly understanding the mecha's strengths and weaknesses.

And he had Jinpei to thank for that.

Jinpei… Kito felt terrible that Jinpei had been captured… and all because of his own clumsiness. He felt that he should apologize to the Swallow, for getting him in such a predicament.

It turned out that the young ninja had been placed in one of Arachnotron's holding cells. Kito made his way to the detention area, soldiers saluting him as he went.

Despite the ridiculous appearance of his costume, it obviously engendered respect from the Galactor troops. Kito smiled underneath his spider-leg mustache. He could get used to this.

When he approached the holding cell, he dismissed the two men standing guard, instructing them to wait at the end of the corridor, some fifty feet away. The soldiers obeyed without question.

The Swallow sat sullenly, in a corner of the cell, his back to the bars. However, Kito didn't doubt that Jinpei was aware of his presence. This was confirmed when the young ninja spoke.

"What the hell do _you_ want?" he asked angrily.

"I… I came to apologize." Kito said quietly.

"What?" Jinpei whirled around, looking at Kito skeptically. "Why?"

"It's me…" Kito explained. "Sergeant Abbott… only… I got a promotion."

"A promotion?" Jinpei laughed harshly, gesturing to Kito's uniform. "Are you sure? It looks to me like you're being punished."

"It _is_ pretty awful, isn't it?" Kito said ruefully, lifting a couple of the spider-legs on his hula skirt, and letting them drop. "It comes with the job."

"I've seen a _lot_ of Galactor costumes," Jinpei smirked, "but that one takes the cake."

"I think you mean, takes the web." Kito replied.

Jinpei laughed, but this time, it was a genuine sound.

"It's pretty crappy, that's for sure." he said, a little more warmly. He looked curiously at Kito.

"Why are you apologizing to me?" he asked.

"I… I didn't mean for you to get captured." Kito tried to explain. "I just tripped…"

"I know that!" Jinpei brushed off his apology. "The Great Swallow would never have been caught, otherwise."

Now it was Kito's turn to laugh.

"Not very modest, are you, Jinpei?" he asked.

"How do you know my name?" Jinpei frowned. "And why are you apologizing? You don't seem like any other Galactor I've ever met."

Kito supposed he should have expected this question, but he hadn't really prepared for it. He fumbled with his thoughts for a moment, then tried to explain.

"I used to know your… sister… a long time ago." he said.

"My sister?" Jinpei's voice had a strange undertone that Kito couldn't identify.

"Jun." Kito said quietly. "We… we were at the Mt. Jupiter orphanage… you were too, but you were so small, I doubt you remember."

"No…" Jinpei shook his head, "I don't remember."

"I don't really want to see you hurt." Kito tried to explain.

"But, you're commanding this mecha, and you plan to destroy the God Phoenix with it, don't you?" Jinpei pointed out.

"Yes, but…" Kito laughed at the incongruity of his situation. He hadn't really thought about it that way before.

"I guess, you're right." he shrugged. "I don't really have much of a choice, though."

"Why not?" Jinpei asked, just as the two guards came running down the corridor.

"Captain!" they called. "The God Phoenix has been spotted nearby! It's heading for our position!"

"How did they know where we were?" asked Kito. He glanced over at Jinpei, who merely smiled, and shrugged.

"Move out! We're taking Arachnotron into the ocean!" Kito ordered.

One of the guards accessed a comm station, relaying Kito's instructions, while the other accompanied him to the bridge.

"We'll have to continue this conversation, later!" he shouted to Jinpei, as he left.

"Assuming there _is_ a later." Jinpei smirked.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Kito ran to the bridge, receiving updates on the situation as he went. The moment he entered Arachnotron's control room, he checked the computers to ascertain their status. So far, all was well. The God Phoenix was approaching, but still a few minutes away from intercepting them. Arachnotron would easily be underwater by that time.

"It's about time you showed up." sneered Lord Katse.

Kito was startled. He had been too pre-occupied to notice the Galactor Overlord standing in the control room, when he had entered.

"My apologies, Sire." Kito said, bowing smoothly. "I was inspecting the mecha and ensuring that our unexpected 'passenger' was secure."

"You had just better hope that this mecha does what you claim it will!" muttered Katse, turning away.

Kito sighed. It appeared that Lord Katse was _never_ happy. The new Captain was almost getting used to it.

Kito busied himself by walking around the control room, giving the Mecha Operators a few encouraging words, and checking on their status. He made a few adjustments to their settings and controls, double-checking that the energy shielding had been activated.

They arrived at their pre-determined location under the ocean's surface.

They were ready.

Lord Katse paced the small room anxiously, and Kito shifted nervously from one foot to the other. He could see the Mecha Operators squirming in their seats.

The ninety seconds or so before the God Phoenix arrived were the most excruciating sense of anticipation Kito had ever experienced. But, unlike when he had been waiting for them on King Kang, _this_ time, he was completely confident that Arachnotron would be able to defeat the Science Ninja Team.

The familiar blue and red shape came into view, traveling through the water as easily as it did through the air.

"Fire Eye Lasers!" Kito ordered.

Although the Mecha Operators were quick, the God Phoenix was faster. For a moment, Kito felt an admiration for the blue warship's pilot, as the vessel appeared to effortlessly dance out of the way of Arachnotron's laser attack beams.

Kito approached the Weapons Operator.

"Notice how they're evading our beams?" Kito asked him. When the Operator nodded, Kito continued. "I want you to use the beams to move them closer to us. Force them evade our attacks by approaching our position."

The Operator did as he was asked, and slowly, the God Phoenix got closer and closer. Without warning, a Bird Missile shot from the top of the ship, toward Arachnotron.

Lord Katse cried out, and cringed as the missile approached, but Kito stood confidently.

As the new Captain had expected, the double shielding continued to be effective against Bird Missiles. There was no damage to Arachnotron. This was proven again when three successive missiles had no effect.

Kito smiled. His plan was working!

The God Phoenix came within attack range.

"Grab the God Phoenix with the four grappling arms!" Kito ordered. Almost instantly, the God Phoenix swerved to avoid the first arm. But, it was unable to escape four attacking at once. In short order, the Science Ninja Team's vessel was immobilized in Arachnotron's grip. Kito could see the elegant ship struggling to free itself, thrusters firing full blast.

But there was no escape for the God Phoenix.

"Excellent!" Lord Katse was actually grinning. He looked around the bridge.

"Now, where are those guards I was expecting?" The Galactor leader's temporary good mood had evaporated within seconds. Kito figured that Katse must have some kind of psychological complex that prevented him from being happy. He guessed it wasn't surprising, given that the man apparently conjured up an imaginary superior named after a letter of the alphabet.

As Lord Katse grumbled about his missing guards, Kito ordered the two drilling arms to attack the God Phoenix, on the sides of its hull, in front of its wings, where he had noticed weak spots before. For good measure, he had the Weapons Operator fire laser attack beams, to further weaken the structural integrity of the ship. Visible cracks began to appear on its sides.

The God Phoenix was trembling, and it was clear that the vessel was beginning to fall apart. Lord Katse fell victim to another mood swing, practically dancing as he surveyed the image on the main viewscreen.

"Congratulations, Captain Abbott!" he crowed, "We have the Science Ninja Team at our mercy!"

A group of soldiers entered the bridge, accompanied by the Swallow, who wore restraints at his wrists and ankles.

"Finally!" Lord Katse screeched, "I was expecting you awhile ago! Where the hell have you been?"

"Uh…" the Sergeant in command looked at the floor, "we had a little trouble getting the restraints on…"

"Idiot!" Katse spat. "Well, he's here now. What better time, to taunt his teammates?"

His purple cape swirled as he grabbed the young ninja, practically dragging him up to the main viewscreen.

"Open a comm channel to the God Phoenix!" Lord Katse commanded, just as Arachnotron gave a lurch.

"Captain!" cried one of the Operators, "Arachnotron's arms are not responding to commands!" just as another shouted, "We have an explosion down in Engineering! The damage is spreading!"

"This damned mecha is going to explode!" Lord Katse cried, "Where the hell is my escape pod?"

"Right here, Sire." Kito replied, pulling a large lever behind a hidden panel. The entire bridge shot away from Arachnotron's body, fleeing through the ocean waters, even as the God Phoenix began to pull free of the Spider's grip.

"The _entire_ Command Center is the escape pod?" Katse asked disbelievingly.

Kito ignored him, activating Arachnotron's internal comm system, so that he could speak to the men who remained on the mecha.

"All personnel: evacuate immediately! Follow signs to escape craft!"

"What?" Katse screeched. "You built escape pods for the soldiers too? What a waste of resources!"

"You ordered me to build this mecha, Sire," Kito replied through gritted teeth, "and _I_ do not consider escape pods for _all_ personnel to be a waste of resources."

Katse huffed as they watched numerous small craft leaving Arachnotron's body, before the mecha exploded completely. The God Phoenix managed to free itself and escape the blast, then began to immediately surface, rather than follow them. Kito wasn't surprised. With the large cracks he had seen, it was likely the Science Ninja Team's ship had taken on a lot of water.

Now that they were out of immediate danger, the failure of the mission hit Kito like a ton of bricks.

"What the hell happened?" Kito asked anxiously. Hurriedly, he ran over to check on the mecha's status reports, from just before the first explosion,

"Sir, it appears that there was some kind of incendiary device set off in Engineering." an Operator reported.

"A bomb?" asked Kito incredulously. "But, how?"

His words died on his lips as he saw Jinpei's smirking face. Apparently, Lord Katse had had the same revelation.

"What happened?" the Galactor leader asked the Swallow's escort, in a menacing tone.

"Well…" the Sergeant shuffled nervously. "When we went to get him out of his cell, we took off his restraints… so he could walk with us… and… he escaped."

"What?" Katse snarled, "I'm surrounded by incompetents! How the hell could you let that happen?"

"We captured him again, Sire!" the Sergeant was quick to offer, "And we put the restraints back on!"

"But not before he left a bomb in Engineering, you imbecile!" Katse cried, hitting the man across the jaw.

The Swallow merely stood, grinning from ear to ear, at the sight of the Galactor Overlord so enraged.

"We were so close…" Kito whispered, mourning his beloved mecha. He had put his heart and soul into Arachnotron, and now, all that was left were a few escape pods.

"You and your lousy mecha design!" Lord Katse rounded on Kito. "So much for your work, _Private_ Abbott!"

"What?" Kito cried, "This isn't _my_ fault! How was I supposed to know that we'd be carrying a member of the Science Ninja Team, much less that he would _escape_ while under guard?"

"True." muttered Katse, sparing a glare for the hapless Sergeant and his men. "But you're still demoted. I don't want you building any more mecha for Galactor! After all, _who_ let this damned ninja into the mecha, to begin with?"

Kito was about to protest again, when they were interrupted by a Mecha Operator.

"The God Phoenix is approaching!"

"Again? How?" Katse asked frantically. "Their ship must be damaged beyond repair!"

"Not enough, Sire. They're following us, and gaining!"

"Damn Science Ninja Team! I'll show them!"

Lord Katse grabbed the Swallow and dragged him back over to the viewscreen.

"Open a channel to the God Phoenix!" he ordered.

Within seconds, an image of the bridge of the God Phoenix appeared on the large monitor. Kito could see the other four members of the Science Ninja Team. They all appeared shocked and concerned, to see their missing member standing next to their enemy.

"You may have destroyed my mecha, Gatchaman!" Katse sneered, "But I will have my revenge! I will execute the Swallow, before your very eyes!" The Galactor leader pulled a gun out from under his purple cape, holding it to Jinpei's throat. The Swallow struggled, but the Sergeant and his men rushed forward to hold him in place.

Kito saw Jinpei's eyes darting around fearfully, searching for any way to escape. For a brief moment, he saw the image of the toddler he had once cared for, superimposed on top of the boy's face.

"No! You can't do this!" Kito cried, "He's just a boy!"

"He's a stupid kid, who destroyed my mecha!" Katse ranted. "And who's the leader of Galactor, here? Me, or you?"

Lord Katse answered his own question, an expression of insanity crossing his masked face.

"_I_ am Galactor's leader! Who the hell are _you_ to tell me what to do?"

Katse backhanded Kito across the jaw, sending him crashing to the ground, his spider mask falling off of his face.

"I won't let you kill him!" Kito cried, seeing red. As Katse cocked his pistol, Kito lunged at him, knocking the Galactor leader to the ground. The two men rolled on the floor, a swirl of purple, black and red, until a shot rang out.

Lord Katse stood up, brushing off his uniform with a disgusted expression.

"Imbecile! Why am I surrounded by idiots?"

Kito lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, a red stain blossoming out onto his uniform through a hole in his chest. He coughed weakly, tasting blood in his mouth.

Katse looked around in a confused manner.

"Hey, where did that stinking kid go?"

The Swallow had vanished.

As he realized what had happened, Lord Katse terminated the communication with the God Phoenix. The Science Ninja Team had witnessed his complete and utter humiliation. The Galactor Leader let out his frustrations by kicking Kito in the side a few times, causing fresh waves of pain to wash over the former Captain.

"The God Phoenix is breaking off pursuit, Sire!" one of the Operators reported.

"Good." smiled Katse. "Now, here's what we're going to do…"

His voice faded, as Kito's mind drifted away from the former Mecha Command Center, and back to what he had seen on the viewscreen. The Swan had looked so regal, so beautiful, even in her concern for the Swallow. Kito was glad that he had escaped, and that Jun would see Jinpei again.

Another image of Jun arose in his mind: as she had been the first day he had seen her, at the orphanage.

"Come on, Kito!" she called. "I have an idea for a new design!"

Kito ran to her, eager to begin work on another project with his friend.

Those had been the happiest days of his life, and they passed through his mind, even as what remained of that life ebbed from his body.

Jun smiled, and Kito followed.


	15. Chapter 15

Epilogue

Their footsteps echoed in the empty room, their bootheels clunking hollowly on the metallic floor.

"Katse escaped, _again_." Ken muttered disgustedly.

"What did you expect?" Joe replied sarcastically. "Ryu couldn't keep up that speed for much longer, and once we had recovered Jinpei, we had to pull back."

"I'm a little surprised that they abandoned this thing." Jun added, "But maybe they thought that we would eventually catch up to them, if they stayed with it."

"What I don't understand, is why did that Mecha Captain save you, Jinpei?" Ryu asked. "It doesn't make sense."

"I recognize this guy!" Ken exclaimed. The Eagle was crouched down beside the lifeless body of the former Galactor Captain.

"What?" Jun was surprised.

"He was at the shelter… after we destroyed that Gorilla mecha…" Ken recalled slowly. "He approached me, and… he knew your name, Jun."

"He did?" A look of concern stole across the Swan's face.

"He had seen you while you were volunteering with the children… and… he said… that he knew you…"

"What did you tell him?" Jun asked softly.

"I told him that he must be mistaken." Ken shrugged. "I didn't know he worked for Galactor, but I was suspicious; the way he approached me, out of the blue, like that."

"He _did_ know us." Jinpei said quietly.

Four pairs of eyes turned to regard the Swallow.

"When I was held by Galactor… he told me that he had known us… at the orphanage." Jinpei said. "He knew my name too."

"Do you think he told Katse?" Ryu asked.

"No…" Jinpei shook his head slowly.

"I don't think he did," Joe agreed, "or Katse wouldn't have hesitated to throw that in our faces."

Jun was looking at the Captain's body, studying it carefully.

"What was his name, Jinpei?" she asked quietly.

"Uh…" Jinpei struggled to remember. "Abbott… I think…"

"Kito Abbott…" she said softly, touching his cold cheek. "I remember... I always wondered what had happened to him. And now… to learn that he joined Galactor…"

The Eagle pulled her up, and into his arms, where she shed a silent tear.

"That might have been you, and Jinpei, if Hakase hadn't adopted you." Joe pointed out.

"I suppose I should be grateful for that." Jun replied, pulling away from Ken and wiping her face with the back of her glove. "But I can't help feeling angry, at how many lives Galactor has destroyed."

"We'll stop them." Ken vowed. "No matter how long it takes, we will not rest until we've brought Galactor to its knees."

"Amen to that!" Ryu said.

Taking one last look at her childhood friend, Jun left the abandoned ship, grateful to Dr. Nambu for the opportunity he had given to her. First Koji, now Kito…

Jun knew that she would fight Galactor, as long as she lived, to prevent this from happening to anyone else she had loved.

In death, Kito had strengthened the Swan, and she remembered.


End file.
